CHART: Mining capex decline set to continue

Diamond miner and retailer Harry Winston posted a 4 percent rise in ore processed in the second quarter, helped by the recovery of higher grades, and the company will hold three rough diamond sales by the end of July.

Network Alliance, a specialist IT and network solutions provider for small and medium enterprises, has announced the successful completion of the South African phase of its first major Riverbed project.

Diamonds have the potential to act as building blocks for quantum computing. In an article published in Nature Physics last month, a group of researchers found that the nitrogen vacancy centre in a diamond can be used for quantum memory. The paper was published by the Center for Spintronics and Quantum Computation, University of California, Santa Barbara, California; and the Department of Physics, University of Konstanz. Researchers named were G. D. Fuchs, P. V. Klimov, and D. D. Awschalom.

Polar bears were the theme of the diamond jewelry items presented to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during their visit to Canada's Northwest Territories. The newlyweds received a set of diamond pave cufflinks modeled after the polar bear logo of the NWT Government, and a diamond pave brooch also in the shape of the North's iconic bear.

Zimbabwe’s state-controlled Herald newspaper reported on Thursday the Harare government is investigating De Beers over claims it smuggled out gems worth "hundreds of millions of dollars" from the controversial Chiadzwa fields. De Beers spent eight years exploring the fields, but later claimed it had failed to find any meaningful deposits according to Zimabwe's deputy mines minister. Diamonds were found by villagers in Chiadzwa in 2006, leading to a frenzied diamond rush that was eventually crushed by the army. Zimbabwe's diamonds are the subject of an international ban although most industry watchers believe it is being widely flouted.

Clive Cowdery, the Resolution Ltd. founder who made about $240 million buying and selling insurers, is betting on diamonds after prices rose five times faster than gold this year on surging demand from China and India. Cowdery, 48, is among startup investors in Diamond Capital Ltd.’s $20 million fund that will manage a portfolio of the polished gems valued at as much as $400,000 apiece.

South Africa's role in getting Zimbabwe's diamonds back into international trade is being slammed as "dangerous", amid revelations that government officials there have helped export millions of dollars worth of Zim diamonds. South Africa's State Diamond Trader officials admitted in parliament last week that they had helped Zimbabwe export diamonds from Chiadzwa, despite an international ban on the trade.

De Beers Diamond Jewellers, the ultimate destination for diamond jewellery, is delighted to announce the opening of its new store in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The De Beers store is located on Bogenbai Batyr, 125 in Almaty – the premier shopping location for luxury brands. The Almaty store will be operated by Premier Metro Group, whose core business is the retail and distribution of luxury goods including jewellery, watches, cars, high-end mobile phones as well as fine wines.

The newest Fair Trade standard, gold and associated precious metals, made its debut a little more than a year ago. It promises to improve social and environmental conditions for millions of small and artisanal gold miners around the world.