The main revenues increased by 14%, amounting to 483 million US dollars; (In 2006, the main income was US $ 425 million.) Before-tax profit, interest and depreciation (EBITDA) remained at about the same level, thanks to efficient management of costs in the Group's mining operations in Africa, offsetting a slight decrease in sales , Caused by restrictions on the supply of raw materials to the Diamond Trading Company (DTC).

Over the past year, the Group has invested $ 1.12 billion in capital formation, which reflects our confidence in the long-term prospects of the diamond market. Basically, these investments were invested in the construction of the Snap Lake and Victor mines in Canada, the Foorspod career in South Africa, and the offshore SASA project off the west coast of South Africa.

Extraction

● De Beers production in 2007 was 51.1 million carats, remaining at a record high level, as in 2006;
● Debswana, a joint venture between De Beers and the government of Botswana, remains the largest diamond mining company in the De Beers Group, accounting for 33.6 million carats;
● De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBCM) in South Africa increased production to 15 million carats, mainly through the use of advanced diamond recovery technology at the Venichia mine, where production increased by 9%;
● Marine production in Namibia has increased, so Namdeb, a joint venture with the Namibian government, produced 2.2 million carats, which is 4% more than in the previous year.

Prospects of extraction

The Group is currently implementing the following new projects, as well as conducting intensive geological exploration:

● Production at the Snap Lake mine in the Northwest Territories of Canada began in late 2007. Currently, the facility is put into operation, after reaching full capacity in 2008, the annual production will be approximately 1.4 million carats ;
● In mid-2008, production will begin at the Victor mine in Canada, where it is planned to mine 600,000 carats of high-quality diamond annually;
● In mid-2007, the ship Peace in Africa began mining from the seabed off the Atlantic coast of South Africa. The design capacity is approximately 0.2 million carats per year;
● The Faorspåd quarry, located in South Africa's Fristeit province, will start production in the fourth quarter of 2008, and it is planned to mine 0.7 million carats annually;
● Boteti Exploration Company, a joint venture company formed by De Beers, Eric Diamonds PiELSi and Vati Ventures, applied for a production license on the AK06 tube located in Botswana in the vicinity of the Orapa mine. The estimated reserves of this field are 11.1 million carats;
● Successful work is under way in the exploration project in Gacho Kue, in the Northwest Territories of Canada, a drilling program has been fully implemented, planned for the winter and summer period, the process of necessary environmental approvals has begun;
● De Beers spent $ 126 million on geological exploration in 2007, a significant portion of which was spent in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as in Angola, Botswana and South Africa, where new and already started projects are being implemented. In Congo and Angola, we focused our efforts on working on promising areas in order to move quickly to the next stage of research. In 2007, De Beers geologists discovered 45 new kimberlite bodies, in 2008 we will drill and evaluate the economic efficiency of these promising sites;
● In 2008, De Beers plans to maintain production at the same level as in 2007. New enterprises in Canada, with a production volume of more than 1.5 million carats, should compensate for the decrease in volumes due to the sale of the Kulinan and Kimberly mines in South Africa;
● On February 4, 2008, De Beers Consolidated Mines received a notification from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy of South Africa about the granting of a new mining license to it at the Venichia mine, which the company will receive in March.

Demand

● Demand for rough diamonds, purchased from Diamond Trading Company, remained at a high level throughout the year. As a result of the decline in demand for diamonds, in late 2006, there was a decline in prices, but the positive dynamics of the market allowed starting the price increase from the second quarter of 2007;
● The growth in sales of jewelry with diamonds amounted to about 3% last year. Especially large growth in sales was noted in China, India and the Middle East, which compensated for the unsatisfactory results of the Christmas sales season in the US, where, due to the volatile economic environment, the decline in consumer demand was noted.

http://rough-polished.com/ru/analytics/14575.html