Registration is now open for a gem-mine tour in the Brazilian state of Bahia, for participants in the 2015 CIBJO Congress, which will take place in Salvador da Bahia, May 4-6. The tour will be depart from Salvador on May 7, returning to the city three days later, on May 10.

The tour will focus on northeast Bahia, in the area of the Chapada Diamantina National Park, which in the 19th Century was the site of a diamond rush. Today it is a protected area, attracting eco-adventurists from around the world.

Participant will fly to Lençóis, adjacent to the Chapada Diamantina National Park, where they will be housed at the Hotel de Lençóis. The town was founded by diamond prospectors, called garimpeiros, during the rush.

Steeped in mining history, the area home to working golden rutilated quartz mines, which also will be visited, as will to the town of Novo Horizonte and the village of Remedios in the heart of the region. Remedios dates to the mid 1600s, and was originally settled by gold prospectors.

The tour to the mines will be led by Brian Cook, a geologist and long-time resident of Bahia.

The cost for the tour per participant is U.S. $850. It includes flight tickets, hotel expenses (including breakfast), tours and tour guides, airport transfers and a buffet dinner on Thursday, May 7.

For more information and online registration, CLICK HERE.

With fewer than seven weeks to go to the opening of the 2015 CIBJO Congress in Salvador, Brazil, on May 4, 2015, the third of the CIBJO commissions’ Special Reports has been released. Prepared by the CIBJO Diamond Commission, headed by Udi Sheintal, the report looks at measures being taken to tackle the infiltration of undisclosed synthetic diamonds into the pipeline, and also the integrity and the diversity of diamond grading systems that used in the industry, the definitions that are used for diamond grading, and the reliability of the graders themselves.

In the report, Mr. Sheintal refers to a recent court case in the United States, at which a consumer alleged that the colour of a diamond sold to him had been “over-graded,” and consequently, he had been charged an exaggerated price.

The scandal has revisited a number of controversial but important questions, Mr. Sheintal wrote. “Is there a single international standard for diamond grading, in which what is stated on a grading report is understood in the same way, irrespective of who issued it? If not, is it not time that we proactively pursue the establishment of an international standard? And who should be grading the graders?”

To download a full copy of the report, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

With fewer than eight weeks to go to the opening of the 2015 CIBJO Congress in Salvador, Brazil, on May 4, 2015, the second of the CIBJO commissions’ Special Reports has been released. Prepared by the CIBJO Precious Metals Commission, headed by Stella Layton, the report focuses on a variety of subjects, including pending conflict mineral legislation in the European Union, nickel regulation, platinum fineness standards and the classification of certain chemicals used in the industry.

Noting that the European Union is a trying to avoid the pitfalls of the conflict mineral legislation in the United States, for which there is a growing body of evidence that it has resulted in the closure of legitimate mines in Africa’s Great Lakes region, Ms. Layton wrote: The European Commission and Parliament are co-legislators and the decision could still go either way. CIBJO members need to remain active in this debate.”

Concerning platinum fineness, Ms. Layton reported that since the CIBJO Congress in 2014, the ISO Standard for Fineness of Precious Metals Alloys has been updated, and now includes a 600 standard for platinum. “While different nations may elect to recognise different standards, they can all refer back to one international standard and appropriate test procedure, which is fundamental to CIBJO’s vision of global consistency and transparency,” she wrote.

To download a full copy of the report, PLEASE CLICK HERE.