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Anglo appoints new De Beers CEO

Cape Town – Anglo American has appointed Bruce Cleaver to replace Philippe Mellier as CEO of De Beers Group, it announced on Friday.

This follows Mellier’s decision to step down after five years. Duncan Wanblad, CEO of Anglo American’s base metals business, will add the strategy & business development portfolio of Anglo American to his responsibilities, it said. Both appointments will take effect on 1 July 2016.

"Bruce's leadership of De Beers' strategy and its commercial and government relationships working alongside Philippe and over much of the last decade, combined with his time working with us to shape the new Anglo American strategy, provide strong continuity at an important stage in the diamond market's recovery,” Mark Cutifani, CEO of Anglo American and chairperson of De Beers, said in a statement.

“The structural dynamics of the diamond market continue to improve, led by the strength of consumer demand for diamond jewellery. With the proven management team in place, De Beers is well positioned to maximise value for all its stakeholders across the diamond value chain.”

Cleaver said that diamonds are as relevant to today’s consumers, all over the world, as they were to their parents and their parents before them.

“Diamonds have also made positive contributions to a host of countries that have used their revenues wisely, to communities and to all who have been touched by their mystique and the practical benefits of responsible mining and ethical sourcing,” he said.

Cleaver served as De Beers’ executive director responsible for strategy and commercial relationships until 2015, also serving as co-acting CEO for a year prior to Mellier’s appointment in 2011. He was appointed group director of strategy and business development for Anglo American in 2015.

On May 24, De Beers said it had completed a fourth offering of rough diamonds this year, signaling a stronger-than-expected demand during what is usually a weaker quarter, Bloomberg reported.

The company, controlled by Anglo American [JSE:AGL], sold $630m (R9.874bn) worth of diamonds in May, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

That’s down from a revised $666m (R10bn) from the previous sale, but up from the $545m (R8bn) in January. While demand for rough diamonds tends to slow in the second and third quarters of the year, prices suggest demand continues to improve, according to Investec.

“We’re already into the second quarter and diamond sentiment still remains pretty good,” Jeremy Wrathall, head of global natural resources in London at Investec, said by phone. “It is a positive surprise that the rough market is still restocking.”

On Friday at 08:35, Anglo American was trading 2% higher at R143.90 on the JSE.

- Additional reporting from Bloomberg.

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