BHP Quarterly Diamond Production Plunges 43%

Diamond production by BHP Billiton, the world’s largest miner, plunged 43 percent to 487,000 carats year-over-year. The fall represents a 16 percent drop over the previous quarter. BHP said that the drop in output resulted from the transition at the Ekati diamond mine from open pit mining to predominantly underground mining.

Ekati is their only diamond mine.

BHP noted, however, that four percent more ore was processed than in the previous year. This means that the per-ton yield is decreasing as mining moves underground.

The miner further warned that an outcome of the transition to underground mining will result in an occasional change in the mix of processed ore.

Production also fell sharply at BHP’s gold mines. Total production fell 23 percent year-over-year to 41,160 ounces.

Poor production results were seen in many of BHP’s other mining activities, with the exception of carbon steel materials. The miner reported record quarterly production of aluminium and manganese ore.