DIAMONDS
Why rough diamond sales tumbled at De Beers’ fourth sale
The sale comes after the industry restocked its supplies of rough diamonds following the year-end sales period
De Beers, the largest producer of rough diamonds by value, reported revenue of $520m for the fourth sales event of the year, well below the figure recorded a year earlier. De Beers, which is 85% owned by Anglo American and one of the diversified miner’s core business units, said its May sales of $520m compared with the $636m it realised in the matching period a year earlier and $586m in the third sale of 2017. "We are continuing to see steady demand for rough diamonds despite the industry entering a typically quieter season," said De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver. The sale, the lowest so far in 2017, comes after the industry restocked its supplies of rough diamonds following the year-end sales period.
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