Ghana’s diamond production increased to 42,669 carats in the third quarter from 40,869 carats in the previous period.



Meanwhile, the West African country, the continent’s second-largest producer, reported that its gold output dropped 18 percent in the quarter as falling global gold prices led some miners to slash production in a bid to reduce costs, the Minerals Commission reported.



Gold output dropped to 840,600 ounces from 1.02 million ounces in the second quarter, Ben Aryee, CEO of the Minerals Commission told Bloomberg News.



"This is to be expected given the current price levels of gold,” Aryee said. “There are implications for revenue as well as employment. Companies have scaled down operations.”



The price of gold bullion has dropped 28 percent this year, the first annual decline in 13 years and the largest fall since 1981.