Alesha Dixon has an early morning rise after last night’s BGT, Tom Jones and Jessie J do some extra-curricular performances, Jedward go all grown up and the cast ofCorrie turn out for the stage version premiere of the soap. It’s just another 24 hours in celebsville.
More: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/05/11/celeb-pics-of-the-day_n_1508776.html
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/05/11/celeb-pics-of-the-day_n_1508776.html
Harry Winston Diamond Corporation (TSX:HW, NYSE:HWD) (the “Company”) reports that in the first calendar quarter of 2012, Diavik produced 1.60 million carats from 0.5 million tonnes of ore processed. Diamonds recovered in the 2012 first quarter was higher by approximately 19% compared to the same quarter of the prior year due to improved grades. In the first quarter of 2011, a higher proportion of mud-rich A-418 type B ore was processed which reduced the overall grade. Ore production for the first calendar quarter consisted of 0.1 million carats produced from 0.04 million tonnes of ore from the A-154 South kimberlite pipe, 0.2 million carats produced from 0.10 million tonnes of ore from the A-154 North kimberlite pipe and 1.2 million carats produced from 0.39 million tonnes of ore from the A-418 kimberlite pipe. Also included in production for the calendar quarter was an estimated 0.08 million carats from reprocessed plant rejects (“RPR”). Average grade increased to 3.0 carats per tonne in the first calendar quarter from 2.8 carats per tonne in the comparable quarter of the prior year. The increase in average grade was primarily the result of the production of RPR in the current calendar quarter.
A mine plan and budget for calendar 2012 has been approved by Rio Tinto plc, the operator of the Diavik Diamond Mine, and the Company. The plan for calendar 2012 foresees Diavik Diamond Mine production of approximately 8.3 million carats (100% basis) from the mining of 2.0 million tonnes of ore and processing of 2.2 million tonnes of ore. Open pit mining of approximately 1.0 million tonnes is expected to be exclusively from A-418. Underground mining of approximately 1.0 million tonnes is expected to be sourced equally from the A-154 South and A-154 North kimberlite pipes. Included in the estimated production for calendar 2012 is approximately 1.0 million carats from RPR and 0.1 million carats from the implementation of an improved recovery process for small diamonds. These RPR and small diamond recoveries are not included in the Company’s reserves and resource statement and are therefore incremental to production.
Source: http://www.stockhouse.com/News/CanadianReleasesDetail.aspx?n=8480297
COMMENTARY-ProspectingJournal.com-It isn’t everyday that the word tungsten is used synonymously with gold. This week, a 1,000-gram ‘fake’ gold bar was found in the United Kingdom. Upon realizing discrepancies in the weight of the bar of gold, further 
tests revealed that the bar had been drilled out and filled with tungsten. In effect the bar was valued at much lower than what was initially thought, and had the trick gone unnoticed, the counterfeiter would have pocketed a substantial amount of profit. Somewhat surprisingly, this isn’t the first time we are learning about gold counterfeiting. In October 2009, bankers in Hong Kong discovered gold bars from the US that were filled with Tungsten, with similar instances also occurring in Ethiopia and South Africa. In almost every documented situation Tungsten is commonly chosen as a substitute. It is a material substantially cheaper than gold but shares the exact same density, to the third decimal. This makes it the ideal material for counterfeiting. Ever since the story was uncovered many analysts have been proclaiming the implications of ‘fake gold’, and justifiably so. If we are to believe we live in a world full of these ‘fake gold’ bars, we must then accept that there is a vast discrepancy between perceived wealth and actual wealth. In fact, some have even suggested that this will damage gold’s image, a metal normally seen as a safe method of storing wealth. While that may be the case, the nature of the gold market suggests this is unlikely. Given the manner in which gold is handled, there are many reasons to discard the regularities of gold counterfeiting. And there are even more reasons to practice continued faith in the metal.
When gold is produced in a refinery, few can predict where the gold will end up and how it may be used. Many gold bars are melted and used for jewelry, amongst other occupations, and there are many opportunities in which gold will trade hands and become subject to inspection. Significantly, the largest quantities of gold bars are stored in banks. Banks regularly deploy a system in which gold is cyclically sent off for cutting and refining, in an effort to prevent chipping in order to maintain a marketable 
standard of presentation. Tungsten plated gold would almost certainly become detected in this banking process. So without even taking into account the technical difficulties associated with counterfeiting gold itself, the nature of the market is one that disallows this type of negative activity. And if we ever do find ourselves in the growing midst of widespread gold counterfeiting, it only costs $3000 to purchase a meter that is able to detect tungsten. Alternatively, there are less expensive and more time-consuming means of effectively measuring for abnormalities. In other words, gold counterfeiting will likely prove more of a hiccup than a major obstacle in the long-term health of the industry.
It is also unlikely that this story will affect the price of gold. It does create a sentiment towards the possibility that gold-derived wealth is inaccurately perceived because some bars are fake and thus overvalued. And in theory, less ‘real’ gold would drive up prices. But in reality we have every reason to believe fake gold bars only exist on a relatively minor scale and currently hold few implications towards global demand.
Source: http://www.prospectingjournal.com/fake-gold-detected-the-tungsten-gold-bar032612/
It was a most royal engagement for one awestruck U.K. couple when their civil wedding was crashed by the Queen herself.
The unannounced visit by the British monarch and Prince Philip stunned newylweds John and Frances Canning, whose small reception was being held in the same hall where Her Majesty was attending a luncheon.
The groom, John, had known the Queen would be in Manchester beforehand and wrote a letter — reportedly in jest — to Buckingham Palace, inviting her to the nuptials. He received a polite reply declining the offer, he said.
He never expected the royals to actually turn up to congratulate them.
Bride Frances was delighted the Queen stopped to chat and pose for photographs, calling the experience surreal.
“It was bizarre that she knew our names. She said: ‘Hello John, Hello Frances,'” she told British tabloid the Daily Mail.
Royal analysts have described the wedding-crashing moment as a stroke of public-relations genius.
Source: CBC
New York, where the average cost of a wedding is $65,824 (S$83,214), is the most expensive city in the United States to get married but many couples will spend about $27,000 to tie the knot and that doesn’t include the cost of the honeymoon.
Most things in Manhattan and the New York metropolitan area are expensive and weddings are no exception, according to the wedding websites TheKnot.com and WeddingChannel.com, which polled nearly 18,000 US brides who were married in 2011 about the cost of their big day.
Chicago came in second with wedding costs of $53,069, but metropolitan New York, which includes Long Island and counties north of New York and the city’s boroughs, neighboring New Jersey and Rhode Island rounded out the top five.
The price tags ranged from a high in Manhattan, which topped the poll of 20 cities to Detroit, where couples spend $27,017 on their nuptials.
The state of West Virginia, where nuptials cost an average of $14,203, was the least expensive wedding location.
“For the first time since 2008, wedding budgets are on the rise,” said Carley Roney, cofounder of The Knot. “In 2011, one in five US couples spent more than $30,000, and 11 percent spent more than $40,000 on their weddings,” she said.
Anja Winikka, the site editor of TheKnot.com, said the economy could be playing a part in the rising price tags of weddings.
“It probably has to do with attitudes toward economic recovery,” she said.
The overall cost of a wedding includes the venue, wedding planner, band and DJ, photographer, florist, videographer, dress, cake, ceremony site and musicians, invitations, limousine, favors, rehearsal dinner and engagement ring.
The venue usually accounts for 50 percent of the budget and the average cost per guest is $196, according to Winikka, who added that 75 percent of couple contribute to the cost of their wedding.
Brides, whose average age was 29, paid about $1,100 for their wedding dress, invited about 140 guests, had four to five bridesmaids and about a 14-month engagement, according to the survey.
The average fee for the wedding planner was $1,753. Future brides are also planning further ahead, some more than 12 months in advance of the wedding. A hopeful 16 percent of potential brides started planning their big day before their prospective husband put a ring on their finger.
Although June is considered the month for weddings, September was the most popular time for nuptials and blue, purple and green are the top colors.
Hawaiians tend to have the most casual weddings, while couples in Long Island, New York are most likely to opt for the most formal.
Most couples have a traditional wedding cake but cupcakes are nudging their way on to the menu and interactive food stations, sommelier wine tastings and sushi chefs are becoming popular.
And to keep up with all it 69 percent of couples had their own personal wedding website. “It is one of the must haves now,” said Winikka.
Source: http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Diva/Story/A1Story20120325-335601.html
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