De Beers production fell 31 percent year on year to 6.375 million carats in the third quarter of ‎‎2012, according to parent company Anglo American. The decline resulted ‎from difficult market conditions and a slope failure at its flagship Jwaneng mine during June that ‎temporarily prevented access to the mine’s main ore body.‎

Anglo American noted that market conditions reflected a combination of a softening in the polished ‎diamond market and a credit constrained rough diamond market.

De Beers continues to focus its operations on maintenance, waste stripping and safety ‎improvements, which has been its strategy since the fourth quarter of 2011 and will help ensure that its mines are well positioned to respond to an increase ‎in demand once market conditions improve.‎ As a result, De Beers production fell 20 percent to 19.824 million carats during the first nine ‎months of 2012. ‎

As production has declined, management said it will be unable to meet sightholder short-term ‎demand as expressed by their initial applications for goods for the year. De Beers rough sales ‎to sightholders have decreased by 17 percent to $4.74 billion in the first 10 months of 2012, ‎according to Rapaport estimates.‎

The next De Beers sight is scheduled to take place on November 5. ‎Anglo American owns 85 percent of De Beers with Botswana's government holding the remaining 15 percent.