Diamond Giant De Beers to Shutter Largest Mine Under Mounting Pressure 

De Beers is shutting down South Africa’s biggest diamond mine for two years as it takes a sledgehammer to costs. The Venetia mine churns out 40% of South Africa’s diamonds and 10% of those used by De Beers. 

The diamond giant hasn’t cut its output expectations, instead planning to save on its stones by moving mining elsewhere. De Beers said Monday it has managed to lop off $100 million of annual overhead costs since 2024. 

The $80 billion diamond industry has been going through rough times, and De Beers parent Anglo American slashed the value of its diamond business in half this February. It was Anglo American’s third writedown in as many years as the mining giant actively seeks to move away from diamonds and instead double down on materials like copper. 

Not All Diamonds Are Forever

De Beers is credited with popularizing diamond engagement rings in the 20th century, using savvy marketing that convinced generations of brides that “A diamond is forever.” But the business has changed significantly since then, particularly in the past decade:

• Lab-made diamonds made up less than 1% of diamond sales globally 10 years ago but now account for more than a fifth. While rivals like Signet have added more lab-grown stones to their lineups to lift sales, De Beers has stuck to mined gems. The diamond giant last year wound down Lightbox, its venture into synthetic stones.
• Lab-made diamonds are significantly cheaper than their mined counterparts, and their prices have only fallen as companies compete to churn out larger, higher-clarity stones. Putting more pressure on the industry to slash prices, the postpandemic slump in Chinese luxury spending has sapped sales while conflicts in the Middle East have disrupted the diamond trade.

Losing Sparkle: This month, Bloomberg reported that De Beers cut its prices to bring them much closer to the market rate, signaling that it’s giving up on maintaining its premium position. One way to retain the value of mined diamonds might be abandoning the carat-for-carat competition with lab-made rivals that give buyers more bling for their buck. Demand could rise for diamonds with unique traits that aren’t being replicated in the lab (yet).