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Johannesburg - De Beers Botswana on Wednesday said it has started to see signs of improvement in the diamond market, which it expects to continue as the year unfolds.
"The economic downturn has impacted all stages of the diamond pipeline, and as retailers have lowered their level of purchasing it has taken time for inventory to work through the pipeline leading to a disproportionately negative knock-on affect on production," said Stephen Lussier, chairperson of De Beers Botswana.
Confirming that diamond mining was restarted at Debswana operations after a 50-day pause in production, Lussier said the first quarter of 2009 "was a challenging time".
Debswana, a joint venture between the government of Botswana and De Beers, was temporarily shut down to mitigate the effects of the global slowdown.
"Production had been suspended at the mines as a result of reduced demand for rough diamonds from the DTC sightholders, brought about by the global economic crisis," De Beers said in a statement.
The company said at the time that the shutdown would reduce production during 2009 to align with demand, conserve cash for the company and protect employment.
On Wednesday Jwaneng, Orapa and Letlhakane Mines restarted operations with some 5 800 people returning to work, De Beers confirmed.
But production at the fourth and smallest mine, Damtshaa, and at Orapa No. 2 Plant, will remain suspended until the end of 2009.
"The men and women that work for Debswana responded swiftly to the global downturn, enabling the company to withstand the economic crisis," said Lussier.
"This accomplishment is all the more meaningful when considering the fact that in the long term, with future growth in emerging markets, demand is likely to significantly outpace what is forecast to be lower levels of diamond supply for many years to come," he added.
During the pause in production, Debswana employees remained on full pay, and the company carried out maintenance work on the assets to ensure the mines run at an optimal level as demand begins to recover.
- I-Net Bridge
