CHAMWE KAIRA
Namibia produced 561 000 carats of diamonds in the second quarter of this year compared to 633 000 carats in the first quarter. Diamonds are the country’s main foreign exchange earner.
The figures were contained in the Anglo American production report for the second quarter ended 30 June 2024. Anglo American owns De Beers, which is a partner of the Namibian government in Namdeb and Debmarine Namibia. Production takes place in Oranjemund and on the seabed of the Atlantic Ocean.
De Beers said production in Namibia decreased by 8%, reflecting planned vessel maintenance at Debmarine Namibia but said this was partially offset by planned mining of higher grade areas at Namdeb.
In the second quarter, Debmarine Namibia produced 427 000 carats compared to 505 000 carats in the first quarter while Namdeb (land operations) produced 134 000 carats compared to 128 000 in the first quarter.
Rough diamond production in De Beers overall markets decreased by 15% to 6.4 million carats, primarily reflecting the lower production guidance announced in the first quarter production report in response to the higher than normal levels of inventory in the midstream, and the expectation for a protracted recovery in demand.
In Botswana, production decreased by 19% to 4.7 million carats, driven by intentional lower production from short-term changes in plant feed mix at Jwaneng to process existing surface stockpiles. Production at Orapa was broadly flat.
In South Africa, production increased by 8% to 0.5 million carats, reflecting the benefit of processing increased volumes of higher grade underground ore as the Venetia mine transitions underground Production in Canada was broadly unchanged at 0.7 million carats.
De Beers said demand for rough diamonds recovered slightly at the start of 2024 following the cessation of the voluntary moratorium on rough diamond imports into India in late 2023, and improved demand for diamond jewellery in the United States year end retail selling season.
“However, with midstream polished inventories remaining higher than normal and continued cautious restocking from retailers, demand for rough diamonds deteriorated in the second quarter of the year. Market conditions are expected to reflect a protracted recovery in demand.”
De Beers said production guidance for 2024 is unchanged at 26 to 29 million carats. “However, with higher than normal levels of inventory remaining in the midstream and an expectation for a protracted recovery, we are actively assessing options with our partners to further reduce production to manage our working capital and preserve cash,” De Beers said.
