De Beers halts Venetia diamond mine for 2 years

De Beers has confirmed it will suspend production at its Venetia diamond mine, South Africa’s most valuable diamond operation, for two years as part of a wider cost-cutting drive. The decision forms part of efforts to steady the business through a prolonged slump in the rough diamond market.

Venetia diamond mine

The Anglo American-controlled producer will scale back spending on Venetia’s underground expansion and focus resources on maintaining the infrastructure needed to resume operations once conditions improve. Group production targets will remain unaffected, with output redirected to other mines.

According to mining.com, Venetia produced 2.23 million carats in 2025, representing 10.3% of the group’s total rough diamond yield and supports around 4 400 jobs. Its $2.3 billion underground expansion only began yielding diamonds in July 2023, following the closure of open-pit mining in December 2022.

Sale process nears completion

De Beers chief executive Al Cook said the company remains focused on improving resilience and positioning the business to compete strongly once industry conditions recover. The move comes as Anglo-American works to finalise the long-anticipated sale of De Beers, first announced in 2024.