Debswana production marginally down
Brian Benza | Friday April 22, 2016 11:01
“There was lower production at Orapa, partially offset by an increase in production at Jwaneng. Damtshaa was placed on care and maintenance from January 2016,” Anglo said. In the period, the flagship Jwaneng mine produced 3.2 million carats up 15 percent from the same period last year while Orapa’s output was down 23 percent to two million carats. In 2016, the company, which produces about 70 percent of parent company De Beers’ production, plans to keep production at a flat 20 million carats this year, as it remains cautiously optimistic of the market despite early signs of an improved market sentiment in 2016.
From a high of 34 million carats in 2007, diamond production, which contributes around 20 percent to Botswana’s GDP and 65 percent to foreign exchange receipts, has plateaued in the last few years as Debswana caps production to match weakening market conditions. In the medium to long-term, De Beers expects industry fundamentals to strengthen as global diamond production plateaus and demand continues to steadily increase.
At De Beers level, production was down 10 percent in the first quarter of the year to 6.9 million carats, reflecting the decision to reduce production in response to trading conditions in 2015.
Production at DBCM (South Africa) decreased by 12 percent to 0.9 million carats mainly due to the completion of the sale of Kimberley mines to Ekapa Minerals.
In Namibia, production at Namdeb decreased by four percent to 0.4 million carats due to reduced grade at Namdeb.
On the other hand, production in Canada decreased by 68 percent to 0.2 million carats due to Snap Lake being placed on care and maintenance in December 2015.
Consolidated rough diamond sales of 7.6 million carats in Sights 1 and 2 of 2016 reflected an improvement in trading conditions relative to second half of 2015.
“Sales volumes were 10 percent lower than in the first quarter of 2015, however this was due to the number of Sights in the respective periods as two Sights were held in the first quarter of 2016 against three Sights held in the same period last year,” said Anglo.
De Beers’ full year production guidance will remain unchanged at 26 – 28 million carats for 2016.