De Beers will see stable production until 2024, management predicted, as the miner maintains a positive outlook on diamond demand.
It expects to extract between 30 million and 33 million carats in each of the next three years, following planned output of about 32 million carats this year, parent company Anglo American said Friday [December 10] in an investor conference.
Consumer appetite for diamonds remains strong, as do the sector’s long-term prospects, commented Anglo American CEO Mark Cutifani. A restructuring at De Beers is helping the company reduce the time it takes for a stone to move from mine to shopper, he added.
“We’ve seen a 23% increase in [like-for-like rough] prices since November last year,” the executive explained. “We [previously said] we’d expect to see a 30% increase over two years, so we’re running well ahead of that schedule. It really does reflect the supply issues in the industry, the opportunities we see, and the good work [De Beers CEO] Bruce [Cleaver] and the guys have done.”
Photo © De Beers.
