I was doing some diamond research and came across a couple of interesting reads. The first is a Diamonds and Human Security Review from 2009. It says it's an annual review but I couldn't find a more recent update unfortunately. It has a good section on Angola and interestingly mentions the govt has a 35% industrial tax and 10 capital tax for miners. I suspected there must be something good in it for the govt to allow it. Not sure if the percentage remains the same. I think this tax is a good thing as a govt should help you get rich if you help them get rich in the process.
http://www.pacweb.org/Documents/annual-reviews-diamonds/AR_diamonds_2009_eng.pdf
The second is the annual report of one of our competitors - Gem Diamonds. They mine approximately 100,000 carats annually, selling at an average price of just over $2000 a carat. They produce exceptional quality diamonds and sold a 92.9 carat diamond for $5.3 million in January 2013. The report is huge but really interesting as it shows what goes on in an operating diamond mine and what sort of journey Lucapa is heading into. Definitely worth a look.
http://www.gemdiamonds.com/gem/uploads/reports/reports/Gem-Diamonds-AR.pdf
. . . and for those only interested in the pictures, check out this sweet lady's earrings - I think they're diamonds but you can check for yourselves.
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Cheers!
