MJ COMMENT

Diamonds meet crypto

A cursory glance at recent results posted by the world’s largest diamond miners makes for grisly reading. At De Beers, total revenue for the first six months of 2020 fell 54% compared with the same period last year, while Russia’s Alrosa posted an 82% year-on-year drop in revenue in the second quarter. Miners have – on the whole – weathered the COVID-19 storm relatively well, but the diamond sector has not been so lucky.