Lucara disappoints with lower first-quarter revenues

London-based giant miner Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) announced today record $13.3-billion 2011 earnings, a 23% increase in underlying earnings a share and a 14% increase in annual operating profits to $11.1 billion.

A report published this week by Global Witness, an international human rights group, says that companies mining the controversial Marange diamond fields in Zimbabwe have senior personnel drawn from security forces loyal to President Robert Mugabe.

Above zero temperatures have set the 600-km ice road connecting diamond mines in Canada’s Northwest Territories with supplies slightly behind schedule since trucking began at the start of the month, but there is no reason to panic yet, the man in charge of the operation said on Tuesday.

Augustin Katumba Mwanke, the former governor of copper-rich Katanga province and go-to guy for resource deals, was seen by many as the power behind the throne.

A £50-million diamond and platinum skull by the once notorious Damien Hurst will be featured in a retrospective of the artist this summer in London.

Diamond demand will slow down significantly in 2012 said today De Beers SA, the world’s largest supplier of rough diamonds, due largely to the weak global economy.

DiamondCorp (LON:DCP), the African diamond mine development and exploration company, will not proceed with further exploration in Botswana due to the recovery of low grades in the area, announced the company today.

BHP Billiton may shelve diamond mining for at least two decades to concentrate on larger aspects of its business, CEO Marius Kloppers said today.

Up to 1.5 million carats worth of diamonds are being auctioned this week by companies allowed to mine the controversial Marange diamond fields in Zimbabwe.