Gaborone: De Beers increased its output 7 percent year on year to 8.515 million carats in the second quarter of the year. The group was targeting an output of between 30 million and 32 million carats this year.

Anglo American, which owns 85 percent of the diamond group, said in a statement that the increase was mainly due to higher output at Venetia mine in South Africa. Venetia’s output more than tripled to 834,000 carats during the period under consideration.

Production at the Voorspoed mine, also in South Africa leaped 18 percent to 186,000 carats. However, production at the Kimberley mine, eased 31 percent to 154,000 carats.

Anglo said total output from De Beers Consolidated Mines in South Africa grew 84 percent to 1.174 million carats.

Meanwhile, De Beers’ output in Botswana where it jointly own Debswana with the Botswana government, dropped 2 percent to 6.266 million carats during the period under consideration due to lower grades mined at the Jwaneng mine following the clean-up of the slope failure at the mine in 2013.

Jwaneng production was 13 percent weaker to 2.532 million carats. Debswana also own the Orapa, Letlhakane and Damtshaa mines. Anglo said output at Namdeb in Namibia increased 20 percent to 509,000 carats.

De Beers Canada production from the Snap Lake and Victor mines also leaped 13 percent to 566,000 carats, it said.