'De Beers policy shift could be harmful'

Critics believe a recent decision by De Beers to focus on economic production at its mines could have a damaging impact on the local diamond industry as it could lead to years of restrained production, low supplies to downstream industries as well as lower government revenues and industrial upheaval.

In an internal communication to sightholders and other stakeholders, De Beers recently announced its intention to focus on economic production, saying it would not mine "when it does not make good economic sense to do so". De Beers said rather than maintaining production or stockpiling rough diamonds, it would prefer leaving the gemstones in the ground to conserve mining costs and instead focus on new ways to drive retail demand.

"In the context of the new economic realities we now face, this means that our overall production levels will not be as large as they were in the years before the global recession," said De Beers. "The scale and profile of production will also vary from mine to mine, dependent upon the economics of each operation."

Editor's Comment
Congratulations Anicia Gaothuse!

The contest had 10 beautiful young girls as finalists and unfortunately only one could wear the crown.The judges picked Anicia Gaothuse. To all those who feel their contestant should have won ahead of Anicia for whatever reason, hardly; the judges found Anicia to be the best among the best, so desist from disrespecting our newly crowned queen on social media or anywhere else, for that matter! Each of the 10 beautiful young women had supporters...

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