De Beers Group has announced plans to suspend production at its Venetia diamond mine in Limpopo, South Africa, for two years as part of efforts to cut costs and reconsider capital spending.
The pause will allow for critical infrastructure investment aimed at improving the mine’s capacity and efficiency, supporting future production growth when business and industry conditions improve.
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The Venetia mine produced 2.2 million carats in 2025 and employed around 4,400 people in 2026.
Production from the $2.3bn (£1.72bn) underground facility began in July 2023, following the end of three decades of open-pit mining in December 2022.
This decision at Venetia follows a previous move earlier in the year to pause the Tuzo phase three expansion at the Gahcho Kué mine in Canada.
Alongside changes at its mines, the company is also looking to reconfigure its global operating model to prioritise spending on core business areas and reduce central corporate costs.
Founded in 1888, De Beers Group has operating mines in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. It is a member of Anglo American.
The company also offers a broad range of industry services, including educational programmes, laboratory analysis, and various technologies for sorting, detecting and classifying diamonds.
De Beers Group CEO Al Cook said: “In line with our commitment to focus and streamline our business, we are making a number of changes to De Beers to ensure greater business resilience in the near-term, while supporting long-term value creation.
“We recognise the protracted challenging conditions as the diamond industry evolves, though we are encouraged by signs of consumer demand growth in the US and beyond, particularly in higher-quality diamonds.”
In October 2025, Angola proposed to acquire Anglo American’s 85% stake in De Beers, competing with other interested parties such as Botswana. However, by February 2026, Angola negotiated to acquire a smaller interest of 20–30%.
