JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Diamond major De Beers’ rough diamond production for the third quarter of the year increased by 46% year-on-year to 9.2-million carats, reflecting stable trading conditions, as well as the contribution from the ramp-up of the Gahcho Kué joint venture mine, in Canada.
Production in Canada increased five-fold to 1.1-million carats with Gahcho Kué starting commercial production on March 2 and reaching nameplate capacity in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBCM) in South Africa, increased production by 41% to 1.5-million carats, largely as a result of higher grades at the Venetia diamond mine, in Limpopo.
Debswana, in Botswana, increased production by 33% to 6.1-million carats, as the Orapa mine’s production increased by 60%, mainly driven by the ramp-up of Plant 1, which was previously on partial care and maintenance.
Output from the Jwaneng mine, meanwhile, increased by 23% as a result of planned increases in feed to the plant.
Namdeb Holdings, in Namibia, increased its production by 12% to 454 000 ct, primarily as a result of higher mining rates from Debmarine Namibia’s Mafuta vessel.
De Beers’ full-year production guidance has been revised from 31-million to 33-million carats to about 33-million carats.
Meanwhile, consolidated rough diamond sales volumes for the third quarter were 6.5-million carats from two sights, compared with 5.3-million carats from two sights in the third quarter of 2016.
The increase was driven by a normalisation of demand for lower-value goods this year, De Beers noted.