De Beers says rough diamond production in Namibia decreased by 4% to 566,000 carats in the fourth quarter of 2023 due to marginally lower grades at the land operations.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, Namibian operations produced 590 000 carats
Overall, the company saw a 3% decrease to 7,9 million carats due to a planned reduction in South Africa as Venetia transitions to underground operations.
Venetia will continue to process lower-grade surface stockpiles as the underground operations ramp up production over the next few years.
De Beers recorded a 54% decrease to 0.4 million carats in South Africa, while production in Canada decreased by 3% to 0.8 million carats because of the planned treatment of lower-grade ore.
The only increase of 6% to 6.1 million carats came from Botswana owing to increased plant throughput at the Orapa mine.
De Beers offered full flexibility for rough diamond allocations in Sights 9 and 10, as Sightholders continued to take a cautious approach to their purchasing during the quarter as a result of the prevailing market conditions and extended cutting and polishing factory closures in India; this followed a two-month voluntary import moratorium on rough diamonds into India during the period.
Consequently, rough diamond sales totalled 2.7 million carats from two Sights, compared with 7.3 million from two Sights in the fourth quarter of 2022 and 7.4 million from three Sights in the third quarter of 2023.
The full-year consolidated average realised price decreased by 25% to $147/ct, reflecting a larger proportion of lower-value rough diamonds sold and a 6% decrease in the average rough price index.
Production guidance for 2024 is unchanged at 29-32 million carats (100% basis). However, De Beers will assess options to reduce production in response to prevailing market conditions.
Unit cost guidance for 2024 is c.$80/carat.
