De Beers Spent $43.4 Million on Diamond Exploration

De Beers has spent $43.4 million in 2010 exploring for diamonds. The company, of which Anglo American owns 45%, produces more than one third of the world’s rough diamonds is looking for new resources to expand output and replace old mines. It had spent $44.8 million on exploration purposes in 2009.

The company said that it had discovered 22 kimberlite pipes in the last year. These are geological formations that contain diamonds. This is in addition to the 195 kimberlite pipes that the company already owns and operates. The announcements were made in a 2010 operating and financial review posted on the company website.

De Beers mentioned last month that it may boost its annual rate of output by 21% to 38 million carats this year. It further hopes to ramp up production to 40 million carats next year. It has produced 33 million carats in 2010. It has reported record earnings of $ 1.4 billion before taxes in 2010. This is due to a 57% increase in its sales as global demand for diamonds recovers after the recession.

The diamond producing company now hopes to begin a detailed investigation into its Mulepe – 1 deposit in Angola this year. It currently does not have a mine in Angola. The project has moved into the desktop phase which should be completed in the second quarter of 2011 as per the review on its website.