De Beers to pause Venetia mine production as part of restructuring plans

De Beers Group is set to pause production at its Venetia mine in South Africa for two years as part of a wider business restructuring aimed at reducing costs and strengthening resilience.

The group said the temporary production pause will allow the company to delay capital expenditure on the mine’s underground project while continuing to invest in infrastructure to improve future capacity. It will engage with stakeholders throughout the process, support affected employees and continue to meet its community and Social and Labour Plan commitments.

The move follows the company’s decision earlier this year to pause the Tuzo Phase 3 expansion project at the Gahcho Kué mine in Canada and forms part of a broader programme to streamline operations and reduce its corporate cost base.

Since 2024, De Beers has been implementing its Origins Strategy, which focuses on lowering costs, divesting non-core assets and prioritising investment in areas expected to generate the greatest long-term value. As part of the programme, the group has removed more than $100m (approximately £74m) in annual overhead costs, completed the sale or closure of several non-core assets and reconfigured capital expenditure across expansion projects.

Alongside the restructuring, the company has continued to invest in marketing natural diamonds, launching new consumer campaigns and working with industry partners to stimulate demand. De Beers said global consumer demand for natural diamond jewellery returned to growth in 2025. Sales through US independent jewellers continued to increase into Q1 2026, supported by demand for higher-value diamonds and its Desert Diamonds campaign.

De Beers said the changes come as rough diamond trading conditions remain challenging, despite declining global production and signs of improving consumer demand for natural diamonds. Alongside the operational changes, the group also plans to reconfigure its global operating model, refocusing resources on its core operational businesses while reducing its central corporate cost base. Production across its remaining operations will continue at current levels and its previously issued production guidance remains unchanged.

Al Cook, chief executive, 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. Global rough diamond supply is falling, bringing more support to the market. The changes we are making to our business are focused on underpinning our efficiency now and into the future, favourably positioning De Beers in its leadership role.”