Anglo American’s diamond mining business, De Beers, reported a 20% drop in the fourth cycle of rough diamond sales for the year, which amounted to $480 million (R9.2 billion).
The figure shows a decrease from the $542m of rough diamonds sold in the previous cycle, and a drop from the $604m sold in the fourth cycle of the previous financial year.
The group said the provisional rough diamond sales figure quoted for the fourth cycle represents the expected sales value for the period May 1 to 16 and remained subject to adjustment based on final completed sales.
De Beers CEO Al Cook said: “Sales of our rough diamonds in the fourth sales cycle of the year saw a small decrease from the previous cycle as the industry has entered what is traditionally a seasonally quieter period.
“Rough diamond demand was also influenced by ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty and a slower pace of recovery in consumer demand from China than was widely anticipated.“
BUSINESS REPORT