Did this financier just call the end of the mining rally?

London-listed Gem Diamonds announced Wednesday it has found the world’s 15th largest white diamond at its Letšeng Mine in Lesotho, which is fast-becoming the richest source of large diamonds in the world. The company  said the type II D 553 carat colour diamond diamond is being analyzed in Antwerp at the moment and has not been named.  Without the occasional large diamond find, the Letšeng pipe would probably be a marginal deposit, but the mine, 30% owned by the King of Lesotho, has also yielded the 603 carat Lesotho Promise turned into a $12.4 million necklace (pictured). The 493 carat Letšeng Legacy sold for $10.4 million in 2007 and the 478 carat Light of Letšeng went for $18.4 million in 2008.

Russia's government-owned diamond producer is reporting sales of rough and polished diamonds of $2.2 billion for the first half of 2011.

Interfax reports Russia state-owned diamond miner Alrosa is up 22% on the country's trading board for unlisted stocks since it was first quoted there on July 18. The price of US$31,495 per share, implies a market value of $8.6 billion. Alrosa accounts for around 25% of world output and for the full year sales of $4.7 billion is expected. The secretive firm has been feeding the market more information recently in anticipation of a 2012 public offering that seeks to raise up to $3 billion.

24/7 Wall St says the global diamond mining industry may be one of the world’s best-kept secrets and diamond mining is not unlike the oil business, where about 100 massive fields supply about half the world’s oil.

BHP Billiton, owner of the Ekati diamond mine, reported revenues of $1.01 billion from diamond sales in the fiscal ear ending June 30, 2011, a 12.1 percent increase from the previous year.

Mountain Province Diamonds said on Wednesday it is breaking off talks with unspecified parties that showed an interest in the company and is instead focusing on advancing its Gahcho Kué project and to arrange its share of the financing which amounts to some $600 million. Shares in the little-traded company jumped almost 8% on the news.

The Ghana government handed over state-owned Ghana Consolidated Diamonds (GCD) to a new investor, Great Consolidated Diamond Ghana Ltd (GCDGL), at a ceremony held on Tuesday in Akwatia, 80 km northwest of here.

The Business Standard reports with gold prices setting new record highs every alternate day, jewellery makers are adopting various methods to minimise its use in diamond jewellery without compromising look and feel. While many have increased mechanisation and reduced manufacturing of hand-made jewellery, others are replacing gold’s weight with diamond to keep investors’ interest intact. Another option is using silver with rhodium plating. Ideally, gold content in diamond jewellery should be 35% in terms of its weight. But, many jewellers have reduced gold content massively in the first half of the calendar year to keep the prices down.

Zimbabwe's government has given foreign companies including miners and banks a 14-day ultimatum to submit plans on how they propose to transfer majority stakes to local owners or risk losing permits, state media reported on Friday. However, immediately thereafter the country's central bank governor Gideon Gono launched a scathing attack on the minister responsible for the indigenization policy saying the threats “could irreparably harm the nerve-centre of the recovering economy.” Before a new unity government in 2009 Zimbabwe economy had shrank by as much as half over the preceding decade amid hyperinflation, property seizures and civil unrest. The country is the number two platinum producer in the world and rich in gold and diamonds.