SDLRC: Brooke Clements highlights diamond articles for March 2022

Sheahan Diamond Literature Reference Compilation

The Sheahan Diamond Literature Reference Compilation is compiled by Patricia Sheahan who publishes on a monthly basis a list of new scientific articles related to diamonds as well as media coverage and corporate announcements called the Sheahan Diamond Literature Service that is distributed as a free pdf to a list of followers. Pat has kindly agreed to allow her work to be made available as an online digital resource at Kaiser Research Online so that a broader community interested in diamonds and related geology can benefit. The SDLRC Blog is a guest commentary by an industry expert about articles, themes and trends in recent issues of the SDLRC.

March 2022

Comments by Brooke Clements

Brooke Clements is President and CEO of Craton Minerals Ltd., a Vancouver-based private diamond exploration company focused on discovering North America's next diamond district. He is also President of JBC Ventures Ltd., a consulting company specializing in mineral exploration and community and government relations. From 2007 to 2015 he was President of Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. where he led the team that discovered the Chidliak diamond district on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic. Before that, Brooke was Vice President, Exploration for Ashton Mining of Canada Inc. Under his leadership, Ashton and their partner SOQUEM discovered the Renard diamond district in Quebec where the Renard Diamond Mine commenced production in 2016. From 1982 to 1997, Brooke was an Exploration Geologist and Regional Manager for Exmin Corporation where he conducted diamond exploration programs throughout the United States. He holds a BSc in Geology from Indiana University and an MSc in Economic Geology from the University of Arizona.

Brooke Clements has volunteered to highlight the articles that caught his attention in the monthly reference compilations. The opinions expressed are solely his and he can be reached at .

Technical Articles
Elements Magazine Issue devoted to Carbonatites The October 2021 Vol 17, Number 5 issue of Elements contains nine papers related to carbonatites and the papers are all listed in Pat's compilation, with links to abstracts available in the Kaiser Research Center.
Primary source of alluvial diamonds from the Santo Antonio do Bonito, Santo Inacio and Douradinho rivers, Coromandel region, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Peireira et al., ID	The authors state that alluvial diamonds found in the midwestern Minas Gerais region of Brazil came from reconcentrated material from a basal conglomerate unit. They describe in detail a new kimberlite discovered in a pit, beneath the conglomerate that lends credence to that theory. The paper has good regional information on this important Brazilian diamond district.
Diamond-destructive mantle metasomatism: evidence from the internal and external textures of diamonds and their nitrogen defects Fedortchouk et al., ID	A very comprehensive diamond study based on 3256 stones from Orapa, Ekati and Snap Lake, a must-read for those interested in diamond morphology.
Sedimentology, geomorphology, structural controls, and detrital zircon ages of the Itiquira River diamond placer deposits, Mato Grosso, western Brazil de Paulo Garcia et al., ID	A comprehensive study with some good maps of an alluvial diamond deposit within the Itiquira River valley just southwest of the southern Amazon craton in western Brazil, mostly in Mato Grosso state. The Amazon craton diamond fields are extensive, but they have received less attention than those on the Sao Franisco craton and vicinity 1000 km to the east. The Juina area in Mato Grosso on the Amazon craton about 1500 km NNW of the study area has received considerable attention over the decades. It was worked extensively by De Beers and Rio Tinto and a few juniors. The area was even taken over by Garimpeiros at one stage. I spent some time exploring for diamonds southeast of the study area in Mato Grosso do Sul. By dating zircons associated with the placers, it is suggested that the diamonds could be associated with a heretofore unknown kimberlite source that is 207-307 my old.
The Global Diamond Industry 2021-2022, A brilliant recovery shapes up The Antwerp World Diamond Center and Bain and Company, ID	The annual Bain and Company report always provides a great snapshot of the diamond industry, summarizing the past year and projecting for the future with lots of great graphs and charts. By all accounts, things are looking up for the industry as stated in the Foreword. "Every sector of the diamond industry performed well in 2021 and emerged from the COVID-19-induced crisis well-positioned for future growth." "Diamonds hit an emotional chord, which had been carefully cultivated by years of targeted marketing campaigns and storytelling." This is the first year in a while that a graph showing optimistic and conservative estimates for rough demand and supply many years out is not included. The graph always showed an impending gap between supply and demand. Many of us used that graph in our company presentations. For a number of reasons that gap between supply and demand never quite materialized. Maybe we are now on track for that to finally happen. The graph below tracks rough and polished prices from 2004 to the present. 2021 figures are only an estimate and are probably low for rough. In his February newsletter, Paul Zimnisky stated that rough prices reached an all-time high in January. Following are a few takeaways from the Bain report: 1) In 2021, revenue increased 62% for diamond miners, 55% for cutters and polishers and 29% for diamond retail. 2) Profit margins across the value chain recovered to pre-pandemic levels. 3) Rough diamond sales rebounded over 60% in 2021, eclipsing pre-pandemic levels. 4) Rough production fell to 111 M carats in 2020, increasing to 116 M in 2021 which was still 20% below 2019 levels. Production of 120 M carats is estimated for 2022. 5) In 2021, a 16 M carat supply increase from Botswana, Canada, Russia and South Africa was offset by the loss of 11M carats from Argyle which closed in November 2020. 6) De Beers has committed to carbon neutrality by 2030 and ALROSA is working on a plan. 7) Rough producers are working hard to improve the information consumers receive on the origin of their diamonds. 8) In 2021, cutting and polishing activities increased 84% globally. 9) US retail jewelry sales showed 23% growth in 2021 relative to 2019. 10) The diamond market is expected to continue its climb in the first half of 2022, with two possibilities after that, "continued rebound" or "short-term readjustment".