Diamond miner De Beers increased its rough diamond production by 15% year-on-year to 7.7-million carats for the fourth quarter of 2021, reflecting planned higher production to meet strengthening levels of demand.

Production from its Botswana operations increased by 23% to 5.2-million carats for the quarter. This was primarily as a result of the planned treatment of higher-grade ore at Jwaneng, partly offset by lower production at Orapa owing to the planned closure of Plant 1 in late 2020.