Firestone Rough Tender Falls Victim to Poor Timing

(IDEX Online News) – A lack of interest in buying rough diamonds has harmed the latest rough diamond tender held by Firestone Diamonds plc. The miner sold only 14 percent of the rough goods offered at the tender that concluded on September 9.

Firestone's fourth tender of the year held in Gaborone, Botswana sold 3,395 carats for $863,037, averaging $254.21 per carat.

The firm made 24,109 carats available for sale, an increase of 69 percent from the July tender. Most of the unsold goods were smaller diamonds.

Firestone said the price of rough diamonds have fallen approximately 15 – 20 percent since the beginning of August.

In a market outlook, the firm said it expects stability to return to the market later in 2011, adding that fundamentals remain positive, with continued demand from China and India and a shortfall in supply expected to continue to support prices.

"Although demand for smaller diamonds has decreased, it has remained firm for larger, better quality diamonds, and we are confident that we will see increased demand for our full range of production later in 2011," said Firestone CEO Tim Wilkes.