ISRAEL/FILE: An Israeli company says it has found positive signs for diamonds after following a Rabbi's prophecy

Record ID: 397411

  • Title: ISRAEL/FILE: An Israeli company says it has found positive signs for diamonds after following a Rabbi's prophecy
  • Date: 30th May 2012
  • Summary: AKKO, ISRAEL (RECENT) (REUTERS) DIAMOND FACTORY VARIOUS OF MACHINES SIFTING STONES LAB WORKER LOOKING THROUGH MICROSCOPE LAB WORKER USING PINCER TO SEARCH FOR DIAMONDS IN PETRI DISH FILLED WITH SMALL STONES LAB WORKER LOOKING THROUGH MICROSCOPE PINCER HOLDING RAW DIAMOND (SOUNDBITE) (English) MARK FEDIKOW, GEOLOGICAL CONSULTANT TO SHEFA YAMIM, SAYING: "It is an abs
  • Embargoed: 14th June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel, Usa
  • City:
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Business,Industry,Quirky,Religion,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA3RUA0ZCHUNKZ1DEXL7PPD8KPK
  • Story Text: Somewhere in the Carmel hills of northern Israel, diamond exploration company Shefa Yamim hopes to uncover the exact spot where faith meets science.
    Inspired by the words of a revered rabbi who prophesised that precious stones were divinely buried in the area, the firm has been mining for about a decade along the steep hills and lush valley that surround the city of Haifa.
    Now, surprising many who had dismissed the mission as a pipe dream, Shefa Yamim says it has found strong signs that significant diamond deposits are indeed hidden in the Holy Land.
    Its workers have dug up thousands of geological indicators -- including 77 macro and micro-diamonds -- in their trenches and boreholes, said Chief Executive Avi Taub.
    "I saw the Rabbi's few sentences and I understand that...we're talking about diving providence, yeah? the divine providence brought it to me, I will do with it something. And I took it ahead and I would...I hope I'm gonna have the privilege to reveal it," Taub, an Orthodox Jew who wears a skullcap and a long, white beard, told Reuters at the company's offices in the coastal city of Akko.
    In 1999, Taub founded Shefa Yamim, which means "bounty of the seas" in Hebrew, based on a conversation that took place 11 years earlier in Brooklyn, New York between the late Rabbi Menachem Schneerson and the then mayor of Haifa. The dialogue was caught on video.
    "The uniqueness of Haifa is that it has a sea and it has a valley -- and in the valley are precious stones and gems. The holy one, blessed be he, did a wondrous thing, he concealed them in the depths of the earth," the rabbi told his visitor.
    Many of Schneerson's followers believe him to be the messiah, making the comments a decree of sorts, and Taub answered the call.
    Israel has long been a global leader for polishing diamonds, but it was never considered to be a possible source for rough diamonds, which it imports from abroad. Top Israeli diamonteers even have their own mining operations in Africa. Shefa Yamim is the first and only diamond explorer in Israel.
    Religious belief and biblical verse have inspired others to search for natural resources in the Holy Land.
    In the same year Schneerson spoke about precious stones buried near Haifa, he also received a letter from a geologist who is now the chief explorer of Givot Olam, which is drilling for oil in central Israel. The letter described how the Bible and Jewish commentary both contain "a poetic description of fundamental principles of modern petroleum geology".
    Texas-based Zion Oil and Gas is exploring for hydrocarbons in the same area as Shefa Yamim and was inspired by a map of the 12 biblical tribes of Israel.
    These companies are all optimistic, but have yet to announce commercial finds.
    Shefa Yamim has licenses to explore 165,000 acres. The company's website is filled with hard geological data, but also contains Jewish scripture and commentary.
    When Shefa Yamim chose to go public in Tel Aviv, a sceptical Israel Securities Authority delayed the issuance for a year until the Energy Ministry, which oversees the country's natural resources, could confirm the findings. The company was listed in April and has kept a market value of roughly $62 million.
    Research analysts at Canada's Canaccord Capital think early-stage companies like Shefa Yamim that have found diamond-bearing kimberlite have only a 5-10 percent chance of success.
    Shefa Yamim's consultant geochemist Mark Fedikow of Mount Morgan Resources in Winnipeg, Canada, believes its chances for success are as high as 20-30 percent due to the abundance of mineral indicators. He thinks it could reach the point of production in three to five years.
    "It is an absolute surprise. It's something that hasn't been common knowledge. This is the first occurrence of diamonds in Israel and they've (Shefa Yamim) done a good job of acquiring the ground to protect their interests on which they found the kimberlites and the streams with the gravels bearing the diamonds and so it's quite unusual, it's brand new and I'm sure the word will get out fairly shortly," Fedikow said.
    "You need a starting point and the stimulus was the Rabbi's prophecy but that will only take you so far. In order to raise the kind of money that's necessary, and it's expensive diamond exploration, to raise the kind of money that you require - you need facts. And the facts are the presence of kimberlite and the diamonds and all of the indications that 'Shefa Yamim' has put together. In order to move your story forward so that investors can put some faith in what you're saying and take their heard earned dollars and put them into your treasury so that you will move your project forward," he added.
    Shefa Yamim has until now been focusing most on alluvial mining, which is shallower along the riverbed in the valley. It will need a significant injection of capital if it is to dig deeper to find bigger diamonds and move closer to its goal.
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