De Beers plans to produce around the same level of rough diamonds in 2013 as it did in 2012, confirmed De Beers Group Chief Executive Officer Philippe Mellier during a media "meet and greet" in Tel Aviv this week. The miner produced 27.9 million carats last year.

Upstream: 'The Investment for the Future' : De Beers plans to retain its ranking as the world's largest supplier of diamonds by value by extending the life of its current mines and continuing its exploration of new kimberlites, added Mellier in his overview of the company's upstream activities, which he described repeatedly as "the investment for the future."

According to Mellier, De Beers is now entering the final stages of obtaining permits for its Gahcho Ku� joint venture with Mountain Province in Canada's Northwest Territories. Mine construction there will begin within a year or so, said Mellier, and the life of the mine is estimated at 11 years, with a potential of producing 48 million carats.

"We are not standing still," Mellier added, as he discussed progress at the company's Chidliak joint venture with Peregrine on Baffin Island; the Cut-8 project at Jwaneng in Botswana, which will extend the life of the mine until 2028; and the US$2 billion Venetia underground project, which will extend the life of the mine in South Africa until 2040.

Downstream: 'The Future is in Branded Diamonds' : Turning the discussion downstream, Mellier said that the Group's long-term view is "in branded diamonds." Describing the continued success of the company's Forevermark diamond brand, he said that Forevermark is now being sold in 1,000 outlets across the world.

When asked if De Beers would be interested in participating in a generic diamond promotional campaign, the idea of which has long been floated around the industry, Mellier announced that "officially" De Beers would be interested but that it "can't take the decision," (i.e., pay) for everyone else.

Touching on synthetics, Mellier, who is also the Chairman of Element Six, revealed that De Beers is in the final stages of producing an automatic screening machine for melee diamonds, which would operate on a 24-hour basis to detect synthetics before they could enter the pipeline.

Mid-Stream: 'Very Much About Change' : Mellier was joined in Israel by Varda Shine, Executive Vice President, De Beers Global Sightholder Sales, both of whom were leading a delegation comprising a number of De Beers' executives as well as representatives of DTC Botswana and Namibia DTC. According to Shine, the delegation's visit was to afford the company exposure among Israeli sightholders as well as to provide the Group with a deeper understanding of global centers outside of southern Africa.

While Mellier talked about on the upstream and downstream levels of the diamond pipeline, Shine focused on the mid-stream. "If I want to define the mid-stream, it is very much about change," she said, while discussing the company's challenges of responding to market volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, especially regarding transparency.

Shine touched upon the DTC's transition of its sorting and selling operations to Botswana and said that the move is expected to be complete by September or October. According to Shine, the first DTC sight in Botswana is planned for November.

A Future in Diamonds: Both Mellier and Shine agreed that while De Beers is no longer the industry's custodian, the company is still a market leader "and we will lead for the longer term," Shine said.

Mellier also emphasized that diamonds remain "very important" for Anglo American, whose shareholding in De Beers stands at 85 percent since completing its acquisition of the Oppenheimer family's 40 percent shareholding last August.

"From day one, the new CEO [of Anglo American], Mark Cutifani, has clearly expressed that we are an important portfolio for Anglo American," Mellier stressed, before adding that a new De Beers chairman is to be elected in three weeks, during a De Beers board meeting.