DIAMOND SOURCES
AND CHANGES
IN PRODUCTION
Until the discovery of diamonds in Brazil in 1725, India was the sole source of diamonds. The total production of India, Brazil, and South Africa in 1870 was 300,000 carats, less than 1/300 of the 100 million carats mined in 1990. Currently the African countries of South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), and Botswana, along with Russia and Australia, are the main producers of diamonds. In 1998, Canadian mining production began in earnest, and further increases in quantities are expected in the 21st century. The total production for 1999 is estimated at 120-million carats, half of which was for industrial use. The quantity of polished diamonds produced that year is estimated at over 20 million carats. The characteristically octahedral gem-quality rough generally has a yield of 45 percent, but other cuttable material suffers much greater weight loss, yielding only 15 to 25 percent. |
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Assuming a reference price of 100 for high-quality material, the relative prices of diamond rough in similar sizes would be 10 for low-quality, and 1 for industrial-quality. Even though Australia is the world’s leading diamond producer by quality, its production in terms of dollar amount is not very high. Other than special material such as pink diamonds, most of the diamonds mined there are of low quality. This helps satisfy increased demand for low quality jewelry, but does not add to the stocks of high-quality materials. There is a shortage of rough material yielding polished diamonds of 0.5 carats or more, which means that older diamonds reentering the market will continue to be an important source of the component materials for jewelry. |
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