Namibia produces 0,6 million carats, thanks to the Benguela Gem


De Beers Group says Namibia diamond production in 2022 increased by 51% to 0.6 million carats.

The leading diamond company released its production report for the 2022 fourth quarter on Feb. 2.

The report covers operations in Botswana, Canada, South Africa and Namibia.

De Beers is in a 50/50 joint venture in Namibia with the government in Namdeb Holdings. There are two companies in Namdeb Holdings, an offshore entity, Debmarine, and Namdeb, an inland diamond miner.

According to De Beers, the increase in diamond production in Namibia was driven by the continued strong performance of the Benguela Gem vessel and the treatment of higher-grade ore at the land operations.

Debmarine acquired the US$420m custom-built Benguela Gem in early 2022. At the time, the company announced that the Bengeula Gem would add about 500 000 carats, an increase of 45%.

The report also said De Beers produced 8,2 million carats of rough diamonds. This was an increase of 6%.

In Botswana, De Beers partners with the government in a company called Debswana. The report said Debswana produced 5,8 million carats, an 11% increase driven by a performance at the Jwaneng.

De Beers said production in South Africa decreased by 27% to 0,9 million carats because of the work that was going on at the Venetia open pit.

Canada saw an increase of 7% to 0,8 million carats, De Beers said in the report.

Sales for rough diamonds totalled 7.3 million carats from two sights, compared with 7.7 million carats from three Sights in the 2021 fourth quarter and 9.1 million carats from three sights in the 2022 third quarter.

De Beers projects the 2023 production to be between 30-33 million carats (100% basis), subject to trading conditions. 

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