Ekati Diamond Production up 26%
July 24, 07
Multi-resource miner BHP Billiton reported today (Tuesday) a rise in annual diamond production. The firm's intake from the Ekati mine was 3.224 million carats, a 26 percent increase over the previous year.
BHP holds an 80 percent stake in Ekati. This translates into an annual mine production of 4.03 million carats.
The mine produced an estimated 1,138,750 carats in the quarter ending June 30, a 56 percent increase year-over-year. BHP's reported share was 911,000 carats.
According to the company, diamond production increased due to the processing of higher-grade ore containing lower value diamonds. The company has yet to release value figures.
BHP released its production report, reporting record annual production for natural gas, alumina, aluminum, copper, nickel, iron ore, manganese ore, and metallurgical coal and increased annual production for diamonds, energy coal and manganese.
Annual gold production totaled 176,071 ounces, a 6 percent decrease over the previous year.
In a separate report, BHP said that in the past year it spent $410 million on minerals exploration. Diamonds, together with nickel and iron ore, were among the minerals that accounted for much of the increase in exploration expenditure over the year.