De Beers posts 24% jump in diamond production in fourth quarter

In its results for the fourth quarter of last year, mining giant De Beers posted a 24 percent increase on the same period of 2011 in diamond production to 8.05 million carats.

De Beers' output for 2012 as a whole, however, fell 11 percent compared to 2011 to 27.9 million carats from 31.3 million carats.

The miner said that output in the final quarter of the year had been strengthened by the restart of operations at the Jwaneng mine in Botswana, the richest mine in the world.

Production at Jwaneng was hit following a slope collapse in June, with full operations only resuming in September.

Output at De Beers Consolidated Mines in South Africa was increased by 69 percent on the year-earlier period to 1.55 million carats in the fourth quarter which compensated for some of the drop in production at Jwaneng, according to Anglo American, which has an 85-percent stake in De Beers.

Anglo American also reported that operations at De Beers' mines are continuing to focus on waste stripping and maintenance activities that started in the final quarter of 2011, as a result of lower global demand for diamonds.