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RAPAPORT... Anglo American, the parent company of De Beers Group, reported that diamond production jumped 21 percent year on year to 7.731 million carats for the third quarter that ended on September 30. Debswana's diamond production surged 24 percent to 5.446 million carats, while production in Canada increased 50 percent to 485,000 carats. Namdeb's diamond production rose 6 percent to 445,000 carats and De Beers Consolidated Mine production was 9 percent higher at 1.355 million carats. In summary, rough diamond production rose in large part due to the restoration of De Beers operations at the Jwaneng diamond mine in Botswana, following a slope failure incident in June 2012. Production from the Snap Lake diamond mine in Canada was also significantly higher due to increased mining volume. Debswana's diamond production, however, was impacted by the Orapa plant's maintenance and lower grades. Production at Venetia continued to improve following a pit flood earlier in the year. For the first nine months of 2012, De Beers production improved 11 percent year on year to 22.026 million carats. Anglo American's shares on the London Stock Exchange were trading slightly lower at midday in the U.K., down 1.6 percent at 1,528 pence.
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