(Reuters) -Anglo American on Thursday forecast a higher annual output of rough diamonds, driven by demand for diamonds from non-conflict zones amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis, although the miner posted a 9% fall in its quarterly group production.
With Russian gold and diamonds off-limits due to sanctions against companies, including Alrosa - the world's largest producer of rough diamonds that competes with Anglo American (LON:AAL)'s unit De Beers, demand for rough diamonds has risen this year.
Russia is the world's biggest producer of natural diamonds, according to the World Diamond Council..
"Combination of sanctions against Russia, decisions from a number of U.S.-based jewellery businesses to apply their own restrictions on purchases of Russian diamonds ... has the potential to underpin continued robust demand for De Beers' rough diamonds," the miner said.
Anglo American said it expects rough diamonds' full-year production to be at 32 million-34 million carats, up from a prior range of 30 million to 33 million carats.
The London-listed miner, however, reported a 9% fall in second-quarter output on lower grades in copper and lack of water availability in Chile, ramp-up of the Aquila longwall in steelmaking coal as well as planned maintenance at the Minas-Rio iron ore mine in Brazil.
Chile, the world's no. 1 copper producer and the no. 2 producer of battery metal lithium, faces drought conditions that have lasted more than a decade and impacted mining output.