Gaborone: De Beers brought in $630 million at its latest sales cycle as the miner benefited from solid demand for its rough amid shortages of Russian goods.

Proceeds from the July sight and auctions were 23% higher than for the equivalent period a year ago, the miner reported Monday. Sales were down 4% compared with the previous cycle in June, which grossed $657 million.

“Following a period of consistently robust demand in the first half, we continued to see steady demand for De Beers rough diamonds in the sixth sales cycle of the year,” said Bruce Cleaver, the company’s CEO.

“However, the diamond industry continues to adopt a watchful approach in light of the risks to consumer sentiment presented by macroeconomic challenges.”

Sanctions and boycotts targeting Russian goods have the potential to “underpin continued robust demand for De Beers’ rough diamonds,” the miner’s parent company, Anglo American, said last week in its second-quarter production report. Diamonds from Russia’s Alrosa have almost disappeared from the market in the fallout from the country’s war in Ukraine.