Image credit: Debswana
"The projected production figure for 2021 is 23-million carats," Debswana corporate affairs manager Agatha Sejoe was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Anglo American, which has an 85% stake in De Beers, said last week that Debswana’s diamond production decreased by 29% to 16.6 million carats in 2020 compared to 23.3 million carats in 2019.
Volumes at Jwaneng reduced by 40% to 7.5 million carats from 12.5 million carats, the previous year, while production at Orapa decreased by 16% to 9 million carats compared to 2019’s 10.8 million carats.
The decline was largely due to a nationwide lockdown from 2 April to 18 May, and the planned treatment of lower grade material at both Jwaneng and Orapa, following their restart, as a production response to lower demand.
Both mines substantially reconfigured their mining operations to preserve costs in light of the lower levels of production.
De Beers gets on average 70% of its rough supply from Botswana.
Recent consumer demand trends have been positive in key markets and industry inventories are in a healthier position, providing the potential for a continued recovery in rough diamond demand during 2021, subject to the -18-ongoing impact of Covid-19, according to Anglo American.
Consumer desirability for natural diamonds is also set to remain high over the medium to long term despite the economic impact of the pandemic.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
