{"id":1180075,"date":"2020-04-23T05:20:45","date_gmt":"2020-04-23T10:20:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/?p=1021466"},"modified":"2020-04-23T05:20:45","modified_gmt":"2020-04-23T10:20:45","slug":"de-beers-axes-diamond-production-forecast-amid-market-collapse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/?p=1180075","title":{"rendered":"De Beers axes diamond production forecast amid market collapse"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>De Beers, the world\u2019s largest diamond miner by value, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.debeersgroup.com\/reports\/production-report\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">cut&nbsp;2020 production guidance by a fifth<\/a> on Thursday, as the coronavirus pandemic has brought the global supply chain to a halt, affecting demand.<\/p>\n<div class='d-flex justify-content-center d-xs-block d-sm-block d-md-none'>\n<div id='div-gpt-ad-1561499308230-0'><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1561499308230-0');});<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Anglo American (LON:AAL) unit said it expected to produce between 25 and 27 million carats this year, down from a previous forecast of 32 to 34 million carats. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignright\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>It expects to produce 25 to 27 million carats in 2020, down from a previous forecast of 32 to 34 million carats. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The revised figure, De Beers said, is subject to ongoing adjustments to disruptions related to covid-19 as well as the timing and scale of the recovery in trading conditions.<\/p>\n<p>The diamond market was in dire<br \/>\nstate even before the coronavirus came along. Now, weeks into lockdowns&nbsp;in<br \/>\nIndia, where most stones are cut and polished, as well as in other key nations,<br \/>\nincluding top retailers, even major players face a bleak future. <\/p>\n<p>India\u2019s diamond hub was officially<br \/>\nclosed on March 24 and most retail outlets that sell diamonds and jewellery<br \/>\nthroughout the world, excluding China, were mandated to shut doors in<br \/>\nmid-to-late March.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLockdown measures have significantly impacted diamond production in southern Africa, manufacturing in India and retail operations in the United States,\u201d De Beers <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.debeersgroup.com\/reports\/production-report\" >said in the statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Dominion Diamond insolvency<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The news come only hours after Dominion Diamond Mines, the Canadian miner\u00a0that\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/harry-winston-sells-its-luxury-division-to-swatch-97026\/6248\/\" >sold its luxury division<\/a> Harry Winston in 2013, <a href=\"http:\/\/cfcanada.fticonsulting.com\/Dominion\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">filed for insolvency protection<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Late on Wednesday, Dominion Diamond said the company and some of its affiliates &#8220;have filed for insolvency protection under the Companies&#8217; Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA)&#8221;&nbsp;and has received an order from the Alberta Court of Queen&#8217;s Bench granting protection to the company under the act.<\/p>\n<p>Dominion Diamond, the controlling<br \/>\nowner of Ekati mine and a 40% partner to Rio Tinto in Diavik mine, owes its<br \/>\ncreditors $550 million. That bill is due in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Operations at the Ekati mine\u00a0have been suspended\u00a0since March 19 in light of the covid-19 pandemic, while production at Diavik continues. Both operations are located in Canada\u2019s Northwest Territories.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/de-beers-terrible-2019-1024x593.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1021471\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/de-beers-terrible-2019.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/de-beers-terrible-2019-300x174.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/de-beers-terrible-2019-768x445.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>The coronavirus pandemic has come at a terrible time for the diamond industry, already reeling from a disastrous 2019.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWhile some rough diamond trading has taken place in recent weeks, the relative volume of transactions has been minimal due the travel restrictions, and ultimately a lack of downstream demand as closed jewellers have no need to replenish inventory,\u201d diamond analyst,\u00a0Paul Zimnisky, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/web\/a-look-at-rough-diamond-prices-in-the-midst-of-the-covid-crisis\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">said earlier this week<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTypically in a crisis environment<br \/>\ndiamond trading liquidity dries up, however, now the circumstances are<br \/>\nespecially severe due to the unique nature of an acute concurrent demand and<br \/>\nsupply shock,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n<p>Global demand for all types of<br \/>\ndiamonds fell between 2018 and 2019, affecting small stones producers the most,<br \/>\ndue to an oversupply in that segment that dragged prices down.<\/p>\n<p>Increasing demand for synthetic<br \/>\ndiamonds also weighed on prices. Man-made stones require less investment than<br \/>\nmined ones and can offer more attractive margins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As many other diamond miners, De Beers is trying to weather a complete shutdown of the global supply chain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2849,949,369,2857,2640],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1180075"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1180075"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1180075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1180172,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1180075\/revisions\/1180172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1180075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1180075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1180075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}