Anglo opens year on a high note

Anglo American plc this week announced that strong demand for its gems during the Holidays season of its biggest market-United States- has led to increased sales in the just-ended ‘sales cycle’.

The latest development comes as a relief for the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) listed mining stalwart, which experienced tough trading conditions across its mining operations last year.  According to a statement to shareholders and regulators, the company said rough diamond sales during the first cycle of the year improved significantly to $540million, compared to $240million of the final sales cycle of 2015. 

 “A positive holiday season in the US from a retail perspective, low levels of rough diamond purchases by the midstream in the fourth-quarter and a subsequent reduction in manufacturing saw polished diamond stock pull through the pipeline,” said the London based miner.

“Rough diamond demand broadened across the entire product range as cutting and polished factories began to increase their activity”.  Chief Executive of the De Beers group, Phillipe Mellier is upbeat that the good times for the industry are once again here.

“We are encouraged by the result of the first sales cycle of 2016, and we will keep working closely with our customers to deliver sustainable improvements in the diamond industry,” he said. 

Anglo American is a company which owns De Beers, a diamond titan, with Botswana government. In Botswana, where De Beers owns some diamond mines with Botswana, the conditions are not as pleasing as Debswana has closed one of its mines, Damtshaa. Debswana said in a statement last year that it is putting the mine under care and maintenance for three years.