DIAMOND (INDUSTRIAL) (Data in million carats, unless noted) Domestic Production and Use: Synthetic diamond production maintained its record-high level. Most industrial diamond produced domestically was synthetic grit and powder. The output was from two firms, one each in New Jersey and Ohio. Seven firms recovered and sold industrial diamond as the principal product. About 35 firms recovered industrial diamond in secondary operations. Major uses of all industrial diamond were machinery, 27%; mineral services, 18%; stone and ceramic products, 17%; abrasives, 16%; contract construction, 13%; transportation equipment, 6%; and other, 3%. The mineral services industry, primarily drilling, accounted for 59% of stone consumption. Salient Statistics--United States:1/ 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995e/ Bort, grit, and powder and dust, natural and synthetic: Production: Manufactured diamond 90.0 95.0 105 104 115 Secondary 3.5 3.4 15.9 16.0 26.1 Imports for consumption 70.0 97.3 133 174 200 Exports and reexports 78.8 83.6 107 153 120 In manufactured productse .6 .6 .6 .4 .8 Sales from Government stockpile excesses 5.0 10.4 -- 2.0 .2 Consumption, apparent 89.1 122 146 141 222 Price, value of imports, dollars per carat .83 .70 .61 .51 .46 Net import reliance2/ as a percent of apparent consumption E 19 18 15 36 Stones, natural: Production: Mine -- -- -- -- -- Secondary .3 .1 .1 .1 .3 Imports for consumption 7.6 9.8 5.2 2.8 3.9 Exports and reexports3/ 2.9 5.6 3.4 4.4 5.6 Sales from Government stockpile excesses -- -- 1.3 3.1 .3 Consumption, apparent 5.0 4.3 1.9 1.5 -- Price, value of imports, dollars per carat 6.68 4.56 6.85 9.41 6.66 Net import reliance2/ as a percent of apparent consumption 94 98 95 95 E Recycling: About 26.4 million carats were salvaged in secondary production from salvage stone, sludge, and swarf. Import Sources (1991-94): Bort, grit, and powder and dust, natural and synthetic: Ireland, 63%; China, 7%; Russia, 7%; and other, 23%. Stone, natural: United Kingdom, 30%; Zaire, 23%; Ireland, 16%; and other, 31%. Tariff: Item Number Most favored nation (MFN) Non-MFN4/ 12/31/95 12/31/95 Miners' diamond, carbonados 7102.21.1010 Free Free. Other 7102.21.1020 Free Free. Industrial diamond, natural advanced 7102.21.3000 3.9% ad val. 30% ad val. Industrial diamond, natural not advanced 7102.21.4000 Free Free. Industrial diamond, other 7102.29.0000 Free Free. Dust, grit, or powder 7105.10.0000 Free Free. Prepared by Industrial Diamond Specialist (703) 648-7721. DIAMOND (INDUSTRIAL) Depletion Allowance: 14% (Domestic), 14% (Foreign). Government Stockpile: Excess crushing bort and industrial stones were sold at auction. Stockpile Status--9-30-95 Uncommitted Committed Authorized Disposals Material inventory inventory for disposal Jan.-Sept. 95 Crushing bort 2.0 -- 1.7 0.22 Industrial stones 5.1 0.09 2.1 0.26 Events, Trends, and Issues: The industrial diamond industry experienced another robust year, and U.S. consumption is estimated to have increased significantly. Total U.S. sales, including exports, were up. It is estimated that the industrial diamond worldwide market performed similarly to the U.S. market. Companies in Ireland, South Africa, Sweden, Germany, South Korea, and the United States increased production capacity for synthetic industrial diamond during 1995. World Mine Production, Reserves, and Reserve Base:5/ Mine production Reservese/ 6/ Reserve basee/ 6/ 1994 1995e/ United States -- -- -- Unknown Australia 23.8 23.0 500 900 Botswana 5.0 5.0 130 200 Brazil .9 .9 5 15 China .9 .8 10 20 Russia 8.5 8.0 40 65 South Africa 5.8 6.0 70 150 Zaire 13.0 5.0 150 350 Other countries .8 1.3 80 200 World total (may be rounded) 58.7 50.0 980 1,900 World Resources: The potential to discover diamond resources in the United States, Canada, and Russia has improved. However, evaluation of deposits already discovered will take several more years. Technology has been developed to synthesize diamond for industrial use worldwide in the range of sizes of powder, dust, and grit; and firms in the United States and Japan manufacture synthetic stones. World resources of natural industrial diamond in the stone-size range are unknown. Substitutes: Competitive materials are cubic boron nitride, fused aluminum oxide, and silicon carbide as manufactured abrasive materials and garnet, emery, and corundum as natural abrasive minerals. Synthesized polycrystalline diamond was competitive with natural stones in many applications. Research continued on additional uses of synthetic polycrystalline compacts and shapes as substitutes for stones and the uses of diamond films and diamond-like carbon coatings. e/Estimated. E Net exporter. 1/Industry stocks and employment were unknown. 2/Defined as imports - exports including reexports + adjustments for Government and industry stock changes. 3/Includes diamonds in manufactured abrasive products. 4/See Appendix B. 5/Natural industrial diamond only. 6/See Appendix C for definitions. Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 1996