JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The commitment of South Africa’s oldest mining company, De Beers, to leading the local diamond industry towards greater inclusivity is reflected in this week’s call by the Anglo American company for entrepreneurs to take part in its local business development programme.

As a three-year sponsored initiative, the programme provides training and mentorship on diamond beneficiation, jewellery design, manufacturing and retailing from seasoned business leaders.

Highly successful entrepreneurs could ultimately become De Beers sightholders – the diamantaires who purchase rough at global sales auctions.

In a release to Mining Weekly, De Beers described the nurturing and elevation of entrepreneurial talent in South Africa's diamond and jewellery sector as a key pillar of its beneficiation strategy.

Carried out in partnership with Raizcorp, it is one of the investments in the sector’s future and the broader South African economy.

“We’re committed to leading the transformation of the local diamond industry towards greater inclusivity and sustainability,” said De Beers Sightholder Sales South Africa senior sales and office manager Richard Steenkamp, who described De Beers as being dedicated to driving growth and innovation in South Africa’s diamond and jewellery industry.

Applicants are being invited for interviews in which insights will be shared on the way in which the programme contributes towards transforming the South African diamond industry by empowering entrepreneurs with the skills and knowledge required to build sustainable enterprises.

Regarding diamond production, De Beers stated this month that it is assessing options with its partners to reduce production going forward, as the midstream continues to hold higher-than-normal levels of inventory, while the expectation for a recovery remains protracted.

Amid that, it is continuing to maintain full-year production guidance of between 23-million and 26-million carats.

De Beers reported earlier this month that trading conditions remained challenging in light of the higher-than-normal midstream inventory levels and the prolonged period of depressed consumer demand in China.

In response, the seventh and eighth sales sights have been merged into one event.

Sales of rough in the combined sight seven and eight sights will be reflected in the fourth-quarter production report, as sales from the event continued beyond the end of the third quarter.

Consequently, rough diamond sales in the third quarter totalled 2.1-million carats from one sight, generating $213-million in revenue, compared with 7.4-million carats sold in three sights in the third quarter of 2023, generating $899-million in revenue.

Sales were also lower than the 7.8-million carats sold in three sights in the second quarter of this year, generating $1.04-billion in revenue.

The average price for the third quarter decreased by 4% year-on-year to $128/ct. The average price was also 10% lower compared with the second quarter of this year.

However, De Beers Jewellers delivered consistent performance with growth in design-led pieces.