De Beers has been synonymous with diamonds due to their
domination of mining and selling over the past 100 years. De Beers controlled
the prices and distribution of diamonds worldwide until 2000, when their
control on diamonds began to break. Diamond producers from Russia, Canada, and
Australia decided to sell directly to manufacturers without going through De
Beers as a middleman. This paved the way for diamond mining companies to become
key players; however, De Beers remains the undisputed diamond mining and
manufacturing leader.
De Beers also owns the Diamond Trading Company, which sells
and distributes rough diamonds, and De Beers Diamond Jewelers Ltd., which it
co-owns with the famous brand Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy Group (LVMH). De
Beers sells its diamonds through LVMH after having them polished and set into
jewelry. In several countries in Africa, De Beers co-owns diamond mines through
deals with the government.
ALROSA is one of the few companies close to being a
competitor to De Beers, with their discovery of the Verhne-Munskoye mine in
2007. The company currently operates 16 kimberlite pipes and 16 alluvial mines.
It also has operations in nine countries and ten regions in Russia. The company
accounts for over 25% of the world's diamond carat output. 95% of Russia's
total diamond production is done through ALROSA.
From ALROSA's mines, preliminary sorting and valuation of
the mined diamonds are first undertaken in their Diamond Sorting Center in
Mirny. The initial valuation of these diamonds takes place in three locations:
at ALROSA's United Selling Organization in Moscow, the Kommeral Company in
Mirny, and at Yakutsk Diamond Trading Enterprise in Yakutsk. The smallest
diamonds mined are separated at the preliminary sorting and sent to the
Kommeral Company, where they are sold as industrial diamonds or manufactured into
diamond powder.
Rio Tinto
Group is another major diamond producer. It has been in the industry since
1979 and operates two diamond mines in Australia and Canada while also
developing another mine in India. Rio Tinto used to operate the Murowa Diamond
Mine near Zvishavane in Zimbabwe until 2015, when it sold its shares to a
Zimbabwean mining company.
Rio Tinto primarily deals in mining, selling, and marketing,
mostly rough or uncut diamonds. It is also known for the Argyle pink diamonds
mined from Western Australia. Most of the diamonds from this mine are cut and
polished for jewelry purposes. The rare pink Argyle diamond is primarily
sourced from this mine and has become the trademark stone of the company. Their
second mine, Diavik mine in the Northwest Territories in Canada, produces some
of the most coveted high-grade diamonds in the world, possessing good shape and
great clarity. The diamonds mined in Rio's facilities are sorted in Antwerp,
Belgium, and sent to Perth, Australia, where they are cut and polished. The
polished stones are then sold in the US, Hong Kong, and Indian diamond markets.
Debswana
Diamond Company Ltd. is the world's leading diamond-producing company in
terms of value and the second-largest in terms of volume. It is a Botswanan
company operating four mines in Orapa, Jwaneng, Lethalkane, and Damtshaa. It is
co-owned by the Botswana government and the De Beers Group. Debswana has been
instrumental in uplifting the economy of Botswana, helping it rise from being
one of Africa's poorest to its current status as a middle-income nation.
Diamonds mined in the Orapa and Jwaneng sites are sorted in
state-of-the-art facilities inside the mining compounds. Similar facilities are
already being installed in all of Debswana's other mines.
Diamonds produced by Debswana
are sold through the Diamond Trading Company of De Beers. De Beers sells them
to clients at events called “sights” held in Gaborone.
The Dominion
Diamond Corporation (DDC) is a Canadian company operating two mines in
Diavik and Ekati. DDC was formerly known as the Harry Winston Diamond
Corporation, which was completely bought by Aber Diamond Corporation in 2006.
This eventually became the Dominion Diamond Corporation that it is today.
DDC's mines in Diavik are co-operated with the Rio Tinto
Group, although DDC has sole mine ownership. Its diamonds are sent to its
sorting facilities in Toronto to be sorted according to clarity, color, weight,
and shape. They are then shipped to the Antwerp and Mumbai sales offices, where
up to 75% of their diamonds are put up for sale on the open market. One of
DDC's famous clients is Tiffany & Co, America's premier jewelry house. DDC
is the world's third-biggest provider of rough diamonds in terms of value.
See the Full list of the top ten diamond
companies.
