RE:RIO must be reading the same playbook.Hey Frank,
I read that article to state that De Beers' reliance on thier lab-made stones will hurt them when the bottom falls out of the lab-made market (right now retailers are pricing the lab-made stones way too high).
Of course, the existence of lab-made stones has also hurt the price of the natural ones, but that may correct itself to a degree once we start tracing the whereabouts of the natural stones (see Star's news release of this morning) and blood diamonds/Russian diamonds are weeded out.
I do think you are right, however, in that some real research and thinking have to go into opening mines going forward. Popping up 6 mines in a war-torn African country with slave labour and substandard infrastructure just isn't going to fly anymore.
More reason to invest in, and focus on, what could be an ethical and thoughtfully developed mine here in Saskatchewan, no?