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; 63 www.e-mj.com "Lukoil successfully developed a major diamond proj- ect from its very early stage and brought the Grib diamond mine to almost full capacity on time and within budget. Spinning-off of this noncore asset allows us to effectively monetize the significant shareholder value that we have created over the past five years," explained Alexander Matytsyn, Lukoil's senior vice president for finance. The mine produced around 4.5 million ct last year, having come on stream in 2014, and is reported to be the eighth-largest diamond oper- ation in the world. Industrial Diamonds – The Overlooked Sector For reasons that probably need no explanation, most peoples' focus is invariably on gem-quality diamonds. After all, jewelers shops sparkle on the high street; outlets for drill bits and abra- sives are usually lurking in some dark recess of an out-of-town industrial park. Yet there is a huge and increasing market for non-gem diamonds as well, a market now so large that natural diamond can only supply about 1% of world demand. The other 99% is synthetic. In terms of mined output, gem-quality stones make up some- where between 20% and 30% of total annual production. The re- maining 70%-80% is destined for industrial uses — and it is this volume (around 100 million ct in 2016) that makes up the 1% of industrial diamond that is not supplied by synthetic material. According to the commodities research firm, Transparency Mar- ket Research, synthetic diamond is often preferred to natural mate- rial for industrial purposes such as grinding, cutting and polishing diamond because its physical properties can be modified accord- ing to end-use requirements. Developed in the 1950s, two routes are available for producing synthetic diamonds: the HPHT (High Pressure High Temperature) or CVD (Chemical Vapour Deposition) processes. The HPHT system involves replicating the natural forma- tion process for diamonds by applying high pressure and tempera- ture to carbon or graphite, while the CVD process operates at low temperatures and pressures. Today, the main producers of natural industrial stones and bort (fragmented material) are the DRC, Russia, Australia, Botswana and South Africa, which supply around 80% of the world's annual output. By contrast, China alone accounts for around 90% of world synthetic diamond production, with the USGS estimating its pro- duction at some 4,000 million ct last year. To put this in perspec- tive, U.S. production was 125 million ct worth around $1/ct. In the 2017 edition of its industrial diamond mineral com- modity survey, the USGS pointed out that "constant-dollar prices of synthetic diamond products probably will continue to decline as production technology becomes more cost effective; the decline is even more likely if competition from low-cost pro- ducers in China and Russia continues to increase. Putting some figures on this outlook, Transparency Market Research estimated that the global synthetic diamond market was worth $15.7 billion in 2014, with the company predicting lower costs and an increase in the number of industrial applica- tions for synthetic diamonds will build the market to a value of $28.8 billion by 2023. ______ ______ With its unique overhead beam design and four pull-to-close hydraulic rams, the GHT 4X4 outperforms all traditional filter presses through superior capacity, efficiency and reliability. It is fully automatic and designed to dewater large volumes of slurry with maximum speed and efficiency. www.aqseptence.com GHT 4X4: THE FILTER PRESS SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR MINES