In the mining operational performance DeBeers said, the mining operations delivered steady operational performance, albeit at lower output levels as the business continued to reconfigure production in response to prevailing market conditions.
Rough diamond production was reduced by 22% to 24.7 million carats (2023: 31.9 million carats), reflecting a proactive production response to a prolonged period of lower demand and higher than normal levels of inventory in the midstream. De Beers continues to focus on managing working capital, and despite lower sales volumes, inventory has reduced slightly year-on-year through the careful management of production, purchases and downstream stocks.
In Botswana, production was reduced by 27% to 17.9 million carats (2023: 24.7 million carats), as a result of planned actions to lower production at Jwaneng. Production in Namibia decreased by 4% to 2.2 million carats (2023: 2.3 million carats), reflecting intentional action to lower production at Debmarine Namibia, which was down 13% year-on-year, partially offset by planned higher grade mining and better recoveries at Namdeb.
In South Africa, production increased by 8% to 2.2 million carats (2023: 2.0 million carats), as Venetia underground progresses and further benefitting from a slight improvement in grades of processed ore. The output, however, remains low in comparison to historical production from the open-pit operation as the majority of the ore processed continues to be from existing surface stockpiles. This is expected to increase over the next few years as the underground project continues its ramp-up.
Production in Canada decreased by 16% to 2.4 million carats (2023: 2.8 million carats) due to the planned treatment of lower grade ore.
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