Debswana output up 27% on Orapa recovery
Brian Benza | Friday April 25, 2014 12:49
According to production figures released by parent company Anglo American, production at Orapa jumped 54 percent compared to the first quarter of 2013 when plant maintenance curtailed production at the country’s oldest diamond mine.
In the three months to March this year, Debswana produced 5.76 million carats, with Orapa producing 3.2 million and Jwaneng 2.4 million.
“The increase was largely due to the impact of planned plant maintenance at the Orapa mine in Botswana during the first quarter of 2013 and recovery from the slide wall failure at the Jwaneng mine in 2012.
“Production at Orapa increased 54 percent year on year to 3.204 million carats while production at Jwaneng rose 4 percent to 2.376 million carats during the quarter,” said Anglo American.
In the period Letlhakane Mine produced 131,00 carats while Damtshaa Mine, Debswana’s smallest mine, produced 55,000 carats. De Beers, which traditionally gets about 70 percent of its output from Debswana, also ramped up output 18 percent year on year to 7.532 million carats in the period largely on the back increased carat production from Botswana.
De Beers is 85 percent owned by Anglo American while the worlds biggest diamond-mining company by value joint equally owns Debswana with the government of Botswana. In 2013, Debswana increased production by 12 percent to 22 million carats to power parent company, De Beers’ output to a five-year high.
De Beers also owns diamond mines in Canada, South Africa and Namibia.
Both De Beers and Debswana are yet to provide 2014 production forecast. From a high of 34 million carats in 2007, diamond production, which contributes just fewer than 30 percent to Botswana’s GDP and 65 percent to foreign exchange receipts, has plateaued in the last few years as De Beers caps production to match market conditions.
Speaking early this year at a dinner held in Gaborone to mark the launch of the 2014 sales season, De Beers group CEO, Philippe Mellier said there is a positive outlook for diamond sales this year after lukewarm demand last year. Mellier said there are good signs coming from the US economy, with improved demand in evidence over the holiday period.
“Looking east to China, there are also healthy signs with a positive outlook for sales around Chinese New Year and expectations for a continuation of strong economic growth, at around the same level seen in 2013,” he said. He warned that despite solid prospects for India in 2014, there remain some concerns about inflation and currency volatility in the short term.