Anglo American: De Beers Output Up 6% On Yr in Q3 To 8.19M Carats

(IDEX Online News) – Anglo American reported that output by De Beers, in which it has an 85-percent stake, climbed 6 percent on the year in the third quarter to 8.19 million carats.

The rise was "primarily due to a strong performance at Jwaneng [in Botswana], where higher grade material was accessed. This was partially offset by slightly lower production across operations in Canada and South Africa, including Voorspoed, where a focus on waste movement to clear an area of unstable ground resulted in lower output.

"In addition, a planned plant upgrade at Venetia and a 19-day strike at Namdeb Land [in Namibia] negatively impacted production volumes."

Output was down 4 percent on the second quarter when 8.51 million carats were produced.

For the year to date, production is up 10 percent on the same period of 2013.

Anglo American added that the Gahcho Kué project in Canada "is progressing successfully through permitting and licensing, recently securing the Land Use Permit and Ministerial approval of the Water Licence. First production is expected in H2 2016, with full commercial production expected in 2017."

Full-year production guidance for diamonds has increased to around 32 million carats from a previous estimate of 31-32 million carats.