OTHER

De Beers cancels diamond sale

Pandemic restrictions prompt cancellation

Staff reporter
 Pandemic restrictions prompt De Beers’ diamond sale cancellation

Pandemic restrictions prompt De Beers’ diamond sale cancellation | Credits: De Beers

Anglo said due to the public health restrictions on the movement of people and product in Botswana, South Africa and India, which prohibited both customers from travelling and the shipment of goods, De Beers would not hold its third "Sight" for the year.

It said Sightholders could defer their allocations to later in the year and De Beers would "continue to seek innovative ways to meet Sightholders' rough diamond supply needs" in the coming weeks.

The value of rough diamond sales in its second cycle of 2020 had amounted to US$355 million, Anglo said earlier this month, which was down from the first cycle's $551 million.

"Following an improvement in demand for rough diamonds during the first sales cycle of 2020, we recognised the impact of COVID-19 coronavirus on customers focused on supplying the Chinese market and put in place additional targeted flexibility to enable customers to defer allocations of the relevant rough diamonds," De Beers Group CEO Bruce Cleaver said at the time.

De Beers has since closed its stores in London, Paris, the US, Canada, Russia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia until further notice due to the ongoing pandemic.

The diamond market slump and De Beers' 55% reduction in underlying EBITDA for 2019 was one of the few negatives in an otherwise decent year for Anglo American.

Anglo closed 1% lower in London yesterday and is capitalised about £18.4 billion (US$22.7 billion).

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Journal Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Journal Intelligence team.

editions

ESG Mining Company Index: Benchmarking the Future of Sustainable Mining

The ESG Mining Company Index report provides an in-depth evaluation of ESG performance of 61 of the world's largest mining companies. Using a robust framework, it assesses each company across 9 meticulously weighted indicators within 6 essential pillars.

editions

Mining Journal Intelligence Global Leadership Report 2024: Net Zero

Gain insights into decarbonisation trends and strategies from interviews with 20+ top mining executives and experts plus an industrywide survey.

editions

Mining Journal Intelligence Project Pipeline Handbook 2024

View our 50 top mining projects, handpicked using a unique, objective selection process from a database of 450+ global assets.

editions

Mining Journal Intelligence Investor Sentiment Report 2024

Survey revealing the plans, priorities, and preferences of 120+ mining investors and their expectations for the sector in 2024.