THE AVG. VOL IS A LITTLE BELOW 500,000

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Publishing Date

09 Apr 2009 3:31pm GMT

Author

Mining Journal

De Beers, the world’s largest diamond producer, said sales are climbing this year and mines in Botswana probably will resume production next week."Sales have been steadily increasing since the end of last year," a spokeswoman said. Cash flow was positive in March, and the Johannesburg-based company is "optimistic" about meeting annual goals, she said.

De Beers suspended mining in February at a joint venture in Botswana that produces a fifth of global diamond supply and said it would borrow US$500 million from shareholders. The worst recession since World War II has sapped demand for jewelry, spurring Rio Tinto and other mining companies to reduce production and payrolls.

The Debswana venture, which is 50%-controlled by Botswana’s government, expects to resume production at its Jwaneng, Orapa and Letlhakane mines on April 15, Gould said. The venture produced 32.3Mct in 2008.

Diamond prices fell 7% in the first quarter after slumping 9.2% in 2008, according to a PolishedPrices.com index. Tiffany & Co., the world’s second-largest luxury-jewellery retailer, reported a 76% plunge in fourth-quarter profit last month after holiday sales shrank in the U.S. recession.

Publishing Date

15 Apr 2009 11:07am GMT

Author

Mining Journal

French bank Société Générale has updated its 2009 precious metals forecasts, and said it now sees gold at US$865/oz an ounce this year.The bank also raised its 2009 price view for platinum to US$1,059/oz from US$876/oz forecast last month. It lifted its outlook for palladium prices to US$210/oz from US$205/oz. It also said it now sees silver at US$12.00/oz.

Gold has been supported by huge investment buying in the first quarter, rising to a peak for the year of US$1,005.40/oz in February, but rising prices have brought hefty scrap supply on to the market, capping gains.

As equity markets have stabilised and investors have become more optimistic the global downturn is bottoming out, gold prices have slipped. However, analysts say fears inflation will rise as a result of fiscal stimulus may limit losses.

"Whether renewed investment buying on inflationary expectations will be strong enough to take the place of risk-averse investment is open to question," SocGen said in a note.