De Beers reports 46% rise in third-quarter rough natural diamond production

De Beers Group reported that rough diamond production rose 46% to 9.2 million carats in the third quarter of 2017, reflecting stable terms of trade and increased production from Canada’s Gahcho Kué.

According to De Beers, the figure is in line with higher production forecasts for 2017.

Debswana (Botswana) production increased by 33% to 6.1 million carats, while Orapa's rough diamond production increased by 60%, mainly due to increased production capacity at Factory 1, which had previously undergone a terms-of-trade deal at the end of 2015. Partial care and maintenance.

Meanwhile, Jwaneng's output rose 23 percent due to plans to increase plant-based feeds.

Production at Namdeb Holdings (Namibia) rose 12% to 500,000 carats, mainly due to higher extraction rates from Debmarine Namibia's Mafuta vessels. Production at DBCM (South Africa) reached 1.5 million carats, 41% higher than last year, mainly due to higher grades from Venetia.

Canadian production increased fivefold to 1.1 million carats as Gahcho Kué reached nameplate capacity in the second quarter of 2017.

Consolidated rough diamond sales in the third quarter of 2017 were 6.5 million carats (6.9 million carats total on a 100% basis) from two sites, compared to 5.3 million carats (6.9 million carats total on a 100% basis) in the third quarter of 2016 5.7 million carats). De Beers noted that the increase was driven by the normalization of demand for low-value goods in 2017.

The miner set a full-year production guidance of 33 million carats.