De Beers Group reported a 11% decline in diamond recovery to 0.56 million carats for its Namibian operations in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the previous quarter.
The first quarter of 2024 saw 0.63 million carats recovered, while compared to the second quarter of 2023, the company reported an 8% decline to 0.61 million carats.
“Production in Namibia decreased by 8% to 0.6 million carats, reflecting planned vessel maintenance at Debmarine Namibia, partially offset by planned mining of higher-grade areas at Namdeb,” said the Group.
Meanwhile, according to production statistics, the total recovery for the first half (H1) of 2024 was 1.19 million carats, a 3% decrease from 1.23 million carats in H1 2023.
“Debmarine Namibia reported a recovery of 0.43 million carats in Q2 2024, down 15% from Q1 2024’s 0.51 million carats and Q2 2023’s 0.50 million carats,” said De Beers.
Debmarine’s total recovery for H1 2024 was 0.93 million carats, a 7% decrease from 1.00 million carats in H1 2023.
On the other hand, Namdeb’s land operations saw a recovery of 0.13 million carats in Q2 2024, a 5% increase from Q1 2024’s 0.13 million carats and a 23% increase from Q2 2023’s 0.11 million carats.
“The H1 2024 recovery for Namdeb was 0.26 million carats, a 14% rise from 0.23 million carats in H1 2023,” said the Group.
In Q2 2024, the total diamonds recovered from Botswana amounted to 4.71 million carats, reflecting a 6% decrease from Q1 2024’s 4.99 million carats and a 19% decrease from Q2 2023’s 5.83 million carats.
“The first half of 2024 saw a total recovery of 9.70 million carats, marking a 24% decline from the 12.73 million carats recovered in H1 2023,” De Beers said.
In South Africa, the Venetia mine recovered 0.51 million carats in Q2 2024, a 16% decrease from Q1 2024’s 0.60 million carats but an 8% increase from Q2 2023’s 0.47 million carats.
“H1 2024 saw a total recovery of 1.10 million carats, down 8% from the 1.21 million carats recovered in H1 2023.”
The overall total carats recovered in Q2 2024 amounted to 6.45 million carats, a 6% decrease from Q1 2024’s 6.86 million carats and a 15% decrease from Q2 2023’s 7.59 million carats.
“For H1 2024, the total recovery was 13.31 million carats, marking a 19% drop from 16.52 million carats in H1 2023.”
In Namibia, De Beers operates as a joint venture partner with the Namibian government through Namdeb Holdings, where both entities hold a 50% stake. Namdeb manages the land-based diamond mines, while Debmarine operates the offshore licences.
