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De Beers would like demand at 51m carats

Adri van Zyl | Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:51
[miningmx.com] -- DE BEERS would like to see diamond demand at 51 million carats, a level last achieved in 2008.

David Noko, MD of De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBCM), noted that demand for diamonds had increased in January. However, he was not overly optimistic the global recession was nearing an end.

It was also unclear whether there had been a recovery in diamond demand or whether the demand was simply the result of restocking, he said. In 2009 diamond sales fell 30% owing to the global recession.

Output at DBCM was increased in October after a period of significant downscaling. Commenting on the curtailed production at DBCM, Noko said that every business had to adjust in order to survive "and ensure sustainability", which ultimately led to growth.

At De Beers’ Kimberley mines, 2.6 million tonnes of ore from old mine dumps was processed last year, producing 397,011 carats of diamonds.

Christie Pisane, operations manager at the Kimberley mines, said the old mine dumps could be worked until 2018 if processing costs were reduced.

Should both processing costs be reduced and processes improved, the dumps could be worked until 2030, he said.

De Beers will announce its results for the financial year to end-December this week.

** (The correction was made to clarify De Beers was not referring to production of 51 million carats but demand.)


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