Editor’s Note
De Beers, the iconic diamond giant behind the slogan “A Diamond Is Forever,” has announced a two-year halt in production at its flagship Venetia mine in South Africa.
The global diamond giant De Beers, which famously used the slogan “A Diamond Is Forever” to position diamonds as eternal symbols of love, has announced a halt in production at its flagship Venetia mine in South Africa.
According to reports from South Africa’s eNCA and the BBC on July 15 (local time), De Beers has decided to fully suspend diamond mining and production at the Venetia mine in Limpopo Province, northern South Africa, for the next two years. The mine, located near the borders of Botswana and Zimbabwe, accounts for over 40% of South Africa’s total diamond output by value. It has been operated by De Beers for more than 30 years, with significant investments since 2012 to develop deep ore veins at depths exceeding 1,000 meters.
De Beers stated that the production halt is part of cost-cutting and business restructuring efforts. While mining stops, the company will continue improving underground infrastructure and equipment efficiency to prepare for a potential production ramp-up when market conditions recover.
De Beers expects the natural diamond market downturn to persist. The slowdown in demand since the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with China’s luxury consumption contraction, oversupply of Angolan rough diamonds, and geopolitical uncertainties, has deepened the market slump.
A key factor is the rapid rise of lab-grown diamonds, which are physically and chemically identical to natural diamonds but cost only about one-tenth as much. According to a De Beers report, the U.S. lab-grown diamond market is projected to grow from $6 billion in 2023 to $9 billion by 2030. Last year, lab-grown diamonds accounted for more than half of engagement rings sold in the United States.
In response, De Beers launched a “Worth the Wait” marketing campaign in 2024, emphasizing the rarity of natural diamonds formed over billions of years.
Despite these efforts, De Beers’ financial difficulties persist. Since 2024, the company has been cutting annual management costs by over $100 million and divesting or closing non-core assets. Earlier this year, it also halted expansion at a Canadian mine. Its majority owner, Anglo American, is pursuing a sale of De Beers.
The restructuring includes significant job cuts. At the Venetia mine, which employs about 4,400 people, approximately 1,200 positions are expected to be eliminated, including 1,134 permanent workers and 80 sales staff.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in South Africa immediately opposed the decision, criticizing the company for failing to conduct sufficient consultations before announcing the production halt. The union warned that the move would severely impact workers, their families, and local communities.