Gaborone: De Beers reported the sale of a provisional $485 million of rough diamonds at its eighth sales cycle of 2016 last week.

The miner also confirmed the sale of $639 million of rough at the previous sales cycle held in August from a provisional figure of $630 million.

De Beers Group CEO Bruce Cleaver said: “Demand for De Beers’ rough diamonds in Cycle 8 continued to reflect the improved midstream trading environment compared with 2015.

“Our rough diamond sales were slightly ahead of expectation during the Cycle, given the normal seasonal demand patterns, the shorter than usual period between Sights 7 and 8, and the forthcoming holidays in some of the major diamond cutting centers.”