De Beers Q3 Rough Diamond Production Up 4%
Rough diamond production swung back to the positive in De Beers’ third quarter, the company announced Thursday.
Production rose 4 percent to 9.6 million carats during the period, following a decrease in Q2 of 4 percent.
The rise in the latest quarter was attributed to the treatment of higher-grade ore at Orapa in Botswana and in South Africa, as well as “continued strong performance” in Namibia, said De Beers.
In Botswana, production was up 4 percent to 6.6 million carats in the quarter, driven mostly by higher-grade ore from Orapa, which was partly offset by processing lower-grade ore at Jwaneng.
Namibia’s production was also up, rising 33 percent to 0.5 million carats, boosted by a strong performance from the Benguela Gem vessel, the company’s new diamond recovery vessel that started operations in March.
South Africa’s production was up 5 percent to 1.7 million carats thanks to the treatment of higher-grade ore and plant upgrades, according to De Beers. Production in Canada, meanwhile, was down 7 percent to 0.7 million carats due to the treatment of lower-grade ore and “the impact of tight labor markets,” the diamond miner said.
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