Citing health and travel restrictions arising from the Covid-19 outbreak, De Beers Group opted not to go ahead with its upcoming rough diamond sale.

"Due to the public health restrictions on the movement of people and product in Botswana, South Africa and India, which prohibit customers from traveling and prevent the shipment of goods to customers’ international operations, De Beers Group will not hold its third Sight of 2020," the miner revealed.

De Beers also announced that Sightholders will be allowed to defer 100 per cent of their Sight 3 allocations to later in the year.

"We will continue to seek innovative ways to meet Sightholders’ rough diamond supply needs in the coming weeks," it added.

The miner reported weaker demand for rough diamonds at its second sales cycle of 2020, which reached US$355 million, down 35 per cent from US$551 million in the first cycle. It also announced giving Sightholders more flexibility in placing orders to help cushion the impact of the outbreak on their business.

The novel coronavirus, which causes the Covid-19 disease, first emerged in Wuhan in late December last year. It has so far infected more than 720,000 people worldwide, with majority of cases found in the US, Italy and China. Over 33,000 people have died from the disease.