De Beers halts work at flagship South African mine as diamond demand slumps
De Beers said it will pause production for two years at its flagship Venetia mine in South Africa, one of its largest operations, as weak demand for natural diamonds continues to weigh on the industry. The site employs more than 4,000 workers, whose roles are now in question during the halt.
The suspension underscores how far the market for mined stones has fallen. Prices have been pressured for years by the rise of lab-grown diamonds, which are chemically identical but far cheaper, and by softer consumer spending in key markets. De Beers, long the dominant name in the sector, has been restructuring as its owner Anglo American works to separate the business.
Idling a mine of Venetia’s scale rather than selling stones into a depressed market is a signal that De Beers expects the downturn to persist. It preserves the resource for a possible recovery but removes supply and jobs in the meantime, with knock-on effects for the surrounding region.