CHARTS: The coming critical minerals trade war is BRICS short of a load
"While a large number of countries around the world continue to talk about securing raw material supply, China is actually doing something about it."
IDEX Online News reports the rough diamond market is in a rut and demand for rough is so limited, that traders are not buying goods, even if offered at 12 or even 13 percent below what DTC’s roughly 80 selected clients – called Sightholders – paid for at last week’s Sight. Traders cannot move it, and manufacturers claim that with the current decline in polished prices they will lose money.
IDEX says from a low cost supplier, DTC – the rough diamond sales and distribution arm of De Beers – has ascended to the pricier side of the list, alongside Russia’s Alrosa. Many lots also went unsold at BHP Billiton’s latest tender and Diamdel’s auction, with bids falling short of the reserve prices.
IDEX Online News quotes an industry insider: “Sightholders have been losing money since Sight 6,” estimating the loss at 10-20 percent of box list price. Even with a relatively smaller Sight, estimated at less than $500 million, and assortments unchanged, it is too much for the market to digest at this point. The result is that many are simply shelving the goods, waiting for demand to improve.
The Sightholders travel to London, Kimberley, Gaborone and Windhoek ten times a year for their Sight.
MINING.com reported this week on an in-depth article by MarketWatch about the $72 billion global polished diamond trade where it found a distinct lack of pricing clarity and a deeply flawed system controlled by one person – Martin Rapaport – that have somehow endured for decades.
IDEX’s online diamond trading platform competes directly with The Rapaport Group’s various offerings and is one company that is pushing an alternative pricing model. In mid-September, it launched the IDEX Diamond Price Report. The IDEX price report is a shot across the bow of the pricing situation in its current form.
