GAZETTE REPORTER
Rough diamond sales (Global Sightholder Sales and Auctions) at the world’s leading diamond mining company De Beers reached $650 million (over P7 billion) in the fifth sales cycle of 2022, this publication can reveal.
De Beers which has been a leader in the exploration, mining, sale and marketing of diamonds since 1888 sells its rough diamonds through two channels: Global Sightholder Sales and Auctions. Global Sightholder Sales sells around 90 per cent of De Beers Group’s rough diamonds, by value, via term contracts to customers known as Sightholders, at events called Sights. These customers are among the world’s leading diamantaires and are active in the major diamond centres.
Sights are held 10 times a year in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, where customers will inspect their rough diamond allocations before deciding whether to purchase them. These diamonds originate from De Beers’s owned and joint venture operations, and from mines that are certified against the Responsible Jewellery Council Code of Practices and compliant with the Best Practice Principles.
Now according to De Beers’ parent company in Anglo American, the world’s leading company has seen its rough sales for the fifth cycle of 2022 exceed P7 billion.
According to De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver, the fifth sales cycle of the year was supported by many factors some of which include the fact that the demand for diamond jewellery. “Diamond jewellery demand continues to perform well in the key US market, and this was reinforced by positive sentiment following the influential JCK Las Vegas jewellery trade show held in mid-June,” he said. “The continued strength of US demand for diamond jewellery and the gradual reopening of retail outlets in China following Covid-19- related lockdowns have supported the sales momentum of De Beers Group’s rough diamonds in the fifth sales cycle of the year.”
Cleaver said owing to the restrictions on the movement of people and products in various jurisdictions around the globe, De Beers Group has continued to implement a more flexible approach to rough diamond sales during the fifth sales cycle of 2022, with the Sight event extended beyond its normal week-long duration. “As a result, the provisional rough diamond sales figure quoted for Cycle 5 represents the expected sales value for the period 6 June to 21 June and remains subject to adjustment based on final completed sales,” he noted.
De Beers Group is a multinational company that specialises in diamond exploration, diamond mining, diamond retail, diamond trading and industrial manufacturing. The company is active in open-pit and large-scale alluvial, coastal and deep mining. It operates in 35 countries, including Botswana from where it generates approximately 75 percent of its earnings. De Beers’ major shareholder is Anglo American, which owns 85 percent of the company. The remaining 15 percent is owned by the Government of Botswana.