Manufacturing out of Namibia was 16% greater year-on-year at 400,000 carats for the fourth quarter, reflecting a discount within the scheduled upkeep time for the marine fleet, De Beers stated.
South African manufacturing reached 1.29 million carats for the quarter, in keeping with output within the fourth quarter of 2020, the miner added.
Canadian output remained slightly flat, falling from 776,000 carats within the fourth quarter of 2020 to 771,000 in the identical interval final yr largely as a consequence of deliberate plant upkeep.
Total, De Beers elevated diamonds manufacturing by 29% to 32.3 million carats in 2021. Trying forward, it anticipates to supply between 30 million and 33 million carats this yr.
Costs on the rise
De Beers elevated the value of its tough diamonds throughout much of 2021 because it sought to get better from the primary yr of the pandemic when the trade got here to a close to halt.
The technique, which utilized to stones larger than 1 carat, granted De Beers a gentle restoration through the yr. Its diamond costs rose by 23% in “simply over a yr,” stated Mark Cutifani, CEO of Anglo American in a December presentation.
De Beers sells its gems by 10 gross sales every year in Botswana’s capital, Gaborone, and the handpicked patrons — referred to as sightholders — usually have to simply accept the value and the portions provided.
Prospects are given a black and yellow field containing plastic luggage stuffed with stones, with the variety of bins and high quality of diamonds relying on what the customer and De Beers agreed to in an annual allocation.
Within the newest sightholder, held earlier this month, the corporate is alleged to have hiked costs by about 8%, The sharpest will increase of as much as 20% had been for smaller, cheaper stones.
Russia’s Alrosa, the world’s prime diamond producer by output, has additionally elevated the value of its diamonds over the previous couple of months, triggering complaints from some trade actors. They declare the value hike has gone too far, particularly as polished costs must climb greater to justify the charges that tough stones are fetching.
