The Argyle Mine Ceases Operations Today
After 37 years and more than 865 million carats of rough diamonds, a very small proportion of which have been pink, the Argyle mine will finally close today.
The Argyle mine has been the source of 90 per cent of the world's pink diamonds over the last thirty years and in that time, pink diamonds have gone up in value by more than 500 per cent. Rio Tinto's managing director for operations, copper and diamonds, Sinead Kaufman said "Demand for Argyle pink diamonds has continued unabated. Rarity, uniqueness and a finite supply has driven the strong value appreciation we have seen, and continue to see."
Described by Vivienne Becker, award winning jewellery writer and historian, as having "a colour and quality that had never been seen before." Much like white diamonds, coloured diamonds are categorised according to their colour which range from very light through to vivid and intense - the more vibrant and intense the colour, the rarer and therefore, the more valuable. What has made Argyle Pink Diamonds so extraordinary is the sheer number of stones with the richness and vibrancy of colour, sitting in the far end of the colour spectrum. "It was completely unprecedented and there was massive excitement in the industry," said Becker.
Mahyar Makhzani, Managing Director and Co-founder of Amma Group commented that we expect prices to climb further after the mines closure. "Pink diamonds have out-performed virtually all traditional asset classes over the past 10 to 15 years," he said. "They've done better than the stock market, property, precious metals and really do present a very stable asset class.”
"The market has known for a long time now that the mine is closing so I don't think we're going to see any shock movement but certainly in a year or two the supply squeeze will start to be felt quite significantly and we’ll expect to see pink diamonds really increase in value. It would be true to say that if you have an Argyle Pink Diamond, then you should hold onto it, but if you are looking to invest, do it now rather than wait a couple of years," said Makhzani.
The land that these diamonds originate from is well known to be sacred land and as Vivienne Becker mentioned, "A huge part of the appeal of these diamonds is the provenance, the purity and integrity of the provenance."
"We've lived through the life of this mine, right from the start, and in these days, when people are really concerned with the origins of every product they buy, particularly luxuries, then this has been a very important element," she commented.
The term conflict diamonds is well known and for a long time now, mines have signed up to the Kimberley process, ensuring diamonds are conflict free. However less well known are the environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns surrounding the industry. In a desire to ensure traceability of its diamonds, Amma Group has recently partnered with The Loudhailer to support and connect digital futureshapers whose innovations might address these concerns.
“With an intention to work with partners to improve social, economic and environmental factors within the diamond and precious stone industry, Amma Group through is partnership with The Loudhailer is developing a fund structure to further support winners of the African based Global Startup Awards, also providing the business tools needed to succeed. Inevitably these digital disruptors will pave the way in addressing climate change, sustainability metrics and energy”, said Philip Baldwin, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Amma Group.
Amma Group has been one of a handful of organisations around the world that are invited to the yearly Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender - the chance to bid on stones from the Argyle mine, 2020 being its penultimate Tender. The process follows the format of a blind auction; organisations have a limited time frame in which to present their best and final offer on a stone in the hope that they come out on top. Amma Group has been fortunate enough to have purchased a number of stones from the Tender, over the last decade.
The Argyle Mine will close today, Tuesday 3rd November and Rio Tinto will begin a five-year process to decommission it before returning the land to its Traditional Owners.
In celebration of the the Argyle Mine and its treasure trove of pink diamonds, below is a wonderful podcast from The Sydney Morning Herald, Good Weekend Talks.
Thank you Argyle Pink Diamonds; ours is the richer for having known you!
