SWTR PR this AM! Sweetwater Resources: A Growing
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SWTR PR this AM!
Sweetwater Resources: A Growing Demand for Industrial Diamond
US production of industrial diamond in 2011 was estimated to have been 98.2 million carats, and the United States was one of the world's leading markets. The following industry sectors were major consumers of industrial diamond: computer chip production, construction, machinery manufacturing, mining services (drilling for mineral, oil, and gas exploration), stone cutting and polishing, as well as transportation systems (infrastructure and vehicles). Stone cutting, highway building, milling, and repair consumed most of the industrial diamond stone. About 99% of the U.S. industrial diamond market now uses synthetic industrial diamond because its quality can be controlled and its properties can be customized to fit specific requirements. Last year, imports of industrial diamond into the US averaged $26.70 dollars per carat.
Industrial Diamond Market
The diamond is best known as a gemstone, but only 20% of the world's production of natural diamond by weight is used in jewelry. The other 80%, known as "bort", is destined for industrial uses and research applications where the unique properties of the diamond are put to great use. Total world rough-natural diamond demand in 2012 is forecast to return to pre-2008 level of $15 billion and expected to grow at an average annual rate of 6.6 percent to nearly 23 billion dollars by 2020. Natural diamond resources have been discovered in more than 35 countries and accounts for about 1.4% of all industrial diamond used while synthetic diamonds account for the remainder. At least 15 countries have the technology to produce synthetic diamond. In 2010, 5 billion carats industrial diamonds were consumed for industrial purposes, with over 99% being synthetic diamonds created by technological processes in a laboratory.
Synthetic diamonds are ideally suited to industrial needs, which explains their dominance in this market. Their key advantage over natural diamonds is that manufacturers can control the properties of hardness, thermal conductivity and electron mobility and thereby tailor the product to specific uses.
Cultured Diamond World
Industrial: machine and cutting tools.
Small synthetic diamonds, usually no larger than one carat, of any color or quality (even finely ground into powder), make excellent cutting, sawing, polishing, drilling and grinding tools. Of the total synthetic diamond production, about 95 percent goes to these industrial uses.
High-tech and Optics.
High thermal conductivity makes diamonds ideal for a range of high-tech applications including transmitting infrared and microwave radiation; as semiconductors in electronics; and for use in X-ray machines, heat sinks in electronic devices, laser windows, high-sensitivity sensors and acoustic systems. Although the optics and high-tech segments are much smaller than the machine and cutting tools segments, the margins are estimated to be significantly higher. Most of the current research in synthetic diamonds manufacturing is focused on this area.
References
Merchant Research & Consulting Ltd. mcgroup.co.uk < http://mcgroup.co.uk >
Diamond Industry Report 2011 by Bain & Company / Antwerp World Diamond Centre.
USGS January 2012 Diamond (Industrial) Element Six 2012 Press Releases
About Sweetwater Resources Ltd.
Sweetwater has acquired 100% of Centaurus Diamond Technologies Inc. Centaurus has been established to fully commercialize its proprietary, cost-efficient and high-volume diamond production method to provide industrial quality diamonds. The Company's patented technology enables the production of "cultured" diamonds that are chemically, atomically, and structurally identical to natural diamonds. The Gemological Institute of America has tested the Company's "cultured" diamonds and has confirmed they are diamonds according to their testing protocols.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Mr. Alvin Snaper, President
For further information, please contact:
American Capital Ventures
Tel: 1-305-918-7000
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