Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr
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DIAMOND MINING SEPTEMBER 2017 • E&MJ; 61 www.e-mj.com Available Options: 1' x 2' and 1' x 4' with Pin-Style fastening 2'x 2' with PolyRail TM fastening Announcing Metaldex TM Pro, the latest in our line of productivity-enhancing products. It's high-quality, proole wire in a modular package. In both hard chrome and stainless steel and only from the industry leader. Innovative Solutions to Maximize Your Productivity. 1790 Dewberry Rd., Spartanburg, SC 29307 Phone: 1 (864) 579-4594 / Fax: 1 (864) 579-4173 www.polydeckscreen.com In fairness, the message seems to have landed on fertile ground, with the chairman of the KP in 2016, the UAE's Ahmed Bin Sulayem, taking the unprecedented step of publishing a "midterm" report on progress being made during his tenure of the office. "Only by visiting diamond-producing countries is it possible to fully appreciate the challenges affecting all those involved in diamond production, from government regulators to hundreds of thousands of miners and their families whose livelihood depends on a transparent, accountable industry," Bin Sulayem said. "This work will continue." One of the key innovations proposed for the KP during 2016 is the establishment of a blockchain system for tracking diamonds. Bin Sulayem's report explained that "blockchain is a list of transactions that happen in a peer-to-peer network. Those who join in the blockchain can transfer value without the need for a central third party or 'clearer' like a bank. Blockchain is a distributed database, completely aligned to the structures of the internet, which maintains a continuously growing list of encrypted data records, secure from tampering or revision." The report went on to acknowledge that "adopting block- chain technology would be a long process requiring a great deal of research. The cost and complexity of implementation would also be significant," it added. But by establishing a permanent public record of the diamonds in the blockchain, this would cre- ate an indisputable, unchangeable chain of ownership transfer, replacing physical certificates with digital proof of a diamond's progress from mine to madame. Russian Roundup With an output of more than 40 million ct last year, Russia ac- counted for nearly 30% of the world's total rough diamond pro- duction, and well ahead of the second-largest producer in volume terms, the DRC (23.2 million ct). The other big producers, Botswa- na, Australia, Canada, Angola and South Africa produced 20.5, 13.9, 13, 9 and 8.3 million ct, respectively, KPCS data show. Set up to strangle the trade in conflict diamonds, the Kimberly Process suspends export certification for the Central African Republic between 2013 and 2015. The organization has since allowed exports to resume from areas under government control, but critics question the effectiveness of the way this is policed. (Photo: Emmanuel Braun, Reuters)