Multi-commodity miner BHP Billiton reported a decline in diamond production in the fourth quarter as well as for the entire year. The company pinned the production decline in the December quarter on a decrease in ore processed and lower average grade.
The company produced 676,000 carats of rough in the fourth quarter, a 11 percent year-over-year decline. In the second half of 2010, BHP Billiton diamonds mined 1,379,000, a 10 percent decline, the company said in an annual production report published Thursday.
BHP Billiton holds a 80 percent stake in the Ekati diamond mine in Canada and the figures reflect their share of production.
Production continues to be influenced by the variability of ore sources due to the mix of open pit and underground mining.
Edahn Golan IDEX
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