BHP Billiton said its diamond production eased 21 percent year on year to 433,000 carats during the three months ended March 31, 2012.
The diversified miner said in a statement seen by Rough & Polished that production also declined 29 percent to 1.371 million carats during the first nine months of the fiscal year.
It said that the lower production was in line with expectations as operations at its Ekati mine, in Canada were constrained to extract lower grade material in the medium term.
BHP owns 80 percent of the Ekati mine, which was its only diamond asset.
The miner announced last December plans to divest from the diamond business to focus on potash.
It said the process of divesting was still ongoing.
BHP also said that it had exercised an option to sell its 37 percent non-operated interest in Richards Bay Minerals (South Africa) to Rio Tinto.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
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