SURAT (Commodity Online): Another blow to Surat as the global diamond producing giant De Beers has announced that its output is hit hard by the recession. De Beers’ diamond production was 40% lower in the third quarter ending September 2009, compared to last year’s third quarter, totaling 7.885 million carats of diamonds.

However, compared to the previous quarter of this year, diamond output was 43% higher. Anglo American said it expected full year production at 50% of 2008 levels.
 
For the year to date, production totaled 14.476 million carats of diamonds, representing a 61% decline compared to the same period last year.
 
In the first quarter of 2009, in light of lower market demand, De Beers reduced production at all of its diamond mines through a combination of production holidays and shift reductions. Since the second quarter, production has restarted at Orapa and Jwaneng in Botswana and operations have resumed in South Africa, Anglo said in a statement.
 
Production from the Canadian diamond operations was impacted in the third quarter of 2009 as a result of a production holiday taken in August, it said. Anglo American has a 45% stake in De Beers.

De Beers is a private holding company engaged in the mining, refining, and marketing of diamonds. It is the largest diamond mining company in the world.

The company primarily operates in Africa and markets its products across the globe. It is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa and employs around 20,000 people.