The six CIBJO Blue Books are definitive sets of grading standards and nomenclature for diamonds, coloured gemstones, pearls, coral, precious metals, and gemmological laboratories. They are compiled and then are consistently reviewed and updated by the relevant CIBJO Commissions, whose members include representatives of trade organisations and laboratories active in the respective areas of the … Continue reading Updated editions of all Blue Books of gemmological standards and nomenclature on CIBJO website
EU agrees law to curb flow of conflict minerals – much ado about nothing
According to REUTERS (WORLD NEWS | Tue Nov 22, 2016 | 1:47pm EST), The European Union agreed a deal on Tuesday to stem the flow of gold and other metals used to fund armed conflicts or produced in conditions that breach human rights. EU importers of tin, tungsten, tantalum, gold and their ores will from 2021 have … Continue reading EU agrees law to curb flow of conflict minerals – much ado about nothing
Oil and metals: Goliath and David
Another excellent infographic published by Visual Capitalist (a few weeks ago). They left diamonds out of the picture, a pity. They included graphite, diamond’s darker and duller brother, though; curiously enough, both markets are very similar in value (diamond production marginally smaller, at close to $14B). Courtesy of: Visual Capitalist
The Portuguese mineral industry – update
Portugal has a long tradition in the mining industry (in our European heartland and, during our long and rich History, in other territories in South America, Africa, Asia). Romans mined (gold and other metals, natural stone) in what is now the Portuguese territory and before them the Celts and Phoenicians. The Portuguese mining industry is now built around three main … Continue reading The Portuguese mineral industry – update
Going to PDAC – meet and talk
A last minute decision – I am traveling to Toronto to attend PDAC 2016. It’s the perfect place to meet and talk: Angola, Mozambique, Brazil and Portugal, diamond and other gems, Nb-Ta and other pegmatite minerals, tungsten, gold, ferrous and base metal deposits, industrial minerals, natural stone. Challenges and opportunities. Where and when can we … Continue reading Going to PDAC – meet and talk
USGS – Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide Occurrence Model
The USGS is an invaluable source of knowledge and information on economic geology (and on most Geology branches, in fact). I have just come across one of their publications; in this case, on VMS deposits – an important source of precious and basic metals (in the world and in Portugal – in our case, for over two … Continue reading USGS – Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide Occurrence Model
