De Beers Boss "Positive" About Industry's Future
February 22, 22
(IDEX Online) - Bruce Cleaver, CEO of De Beers, says he feels more positive about the future of the diamond industry than he has for a long time.
The global supply of rough probably peaked in 2018/9, but will remain stable for several decades to come, he told Reuters at yesterday's The Future of Diamonds conference in Dubai.
"Supply will remain stable. It won't fall off a cliff. We see 20, 30, 40 years of stable supply. That's why I feel quite positive," he said.
He said the company remained "extremely focused on exploration". It had projects currently under way in Botswana, Canada and South Africa and commissioned an ocean-floor survey last year for marine diamonds off the coast of Greenland.
In December, De Beers said it had revived plans to invest in Angola, after what it described as "substantive and consistent reforms" in the country.
Picture shows Bruce Cleaver