SourcingSep 22, 2025
Rio Tinto Announces Final ‘Beyond Rare’ TenderSourcingSep 25, 2025
2 African Countries Aim to Take Stake in De Beers
Botswana’s president said his country wants a controlling share, while Angola envisions multiple countries holding minority stakes.
The entrance to the Jwaneng diamond mine in Botswana, which is operated by De Beers Group and the government of Botswana and is considered to be world’s richest diamond mine. This week, leaders from both Botswana and Angola spoke out about taking a stake in De Beers.
New York—Leaders from the governments of Botswana and Angola, two top diamond-producing countries, are expressing their interest in the future of De Beers Group as Anglo American looks to offload its majority stake in the company.
Angola’s proposal, communicated via a press release shared Wednesday, is for De Beers to remain a private company in which African countries have a stake.
Earlier this month, the country’s state-run diamond company, Endiama E.P., submitted a “fully financed” offer to acquire a minority stake in De Beers, and invites Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa to join it.
The release did not provide any specifics on who was involved in financing the offer, and Peter Meeus, an adviser and consultant to the Angolan government, said the government cannot comment on who is behind the financing of the bid.
“Angola believes De Beers’ future depends on remaining a private-sector-led, global company,” Angola’s Minister of Mineral Resources, Petroleum, and Gas Diamantino Pedro Azevedo said in the release.
“Our bid is designed to foster a partnership in which Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Angola all participate meaningfully—ensuring that no single party dominates and that the company can grow as a truly international commercial entity.”
According to Kimberley Process statistics for 2024, Angola was the world’s third-largest producer of rough diamonds by volume last year (14 million carats), topped only by Russia and Botswana, and the second-largest producer in terms of value ($1.41 billion), behind only Russia.
In the release issued Wednesday, Angola noted it is the only country that has brought a new “world-class” diamond mine online in the past 15 years.
The Luele mine, located in northeastern Angola, opened in November 2023, and has an estimated production capacity of about 4 million carats a year.
In addition, last month, De Beers and Endiama announced the discovery of a new field of kimberlite, the host rock for diamonds, in Angola.
De Beers said at the time that it was the first new kimberlite field it had found in more than three decades, and the company’s CEO Al Cook called Angola “one of the best places on the planet to look for diamonds.”
Related stories will be right here …
Angola’s proposal, communicated via a press release shared Wednesday, is for De Beers to remain a private company in which African countries have a stake.
Earlier this month, the country’s state-run diamond company, Endiama E.P., submitted a “fully financed” offer to acquire a minority stake in De Beers, and invites Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa to join it.
The release did not provide any specifics on who was involved in financing the offer, and Peter Meeus, an adviser and consultant to the Angolan government, said the government cannot comment on who is behind the financing of the bid.
“Angola believes De Beers’ future depends on remaining a private-sector-led, global company,” Angola’s Minister of Mineral Resources, Petroleum, and Gas Diamantino Pedro Azevedo said in the release.
“Our bid is designed to foster a partnership in which Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Angola all participate meaningfully—ensuring that no single party dominates and that the company can grow as a truly international commercial entity.”
According to Kimberley Process statistics for 2024, Angola was the world’s third-largest producer of rough diamonds by volume last year (14 million carats), topped only by Russia and Botswana, and the second-largest producer in terms of value ($1.41 billion), behind only Russia.
In the release issued Wednesday, Angola noted it is the only country that has brought a new “world-class” diamond mine online in the past 15 years.
The Luele mine, located in northeastern Angola, opened in November 2023, and has an estimated production capacity of about 4 million carats a year.
In addition, last month, De Beers and Endiama announced the discovery of a new field of kimberlite, the host rock for diamonds, in Angola.
De Beers said at the time that it was the first new kimberlite field it had found in more than three decades, and the company’s CEO Al Cook called Angola “one of the best places on the planet to look for diamonds.”
Angola’s announcement came one day after Botswana’s President, Duma Boko, said during an appearance on Bloomberg TV that his country wants to take a controlling stake in De Beers.
Botswana currently owns 15 percent of the diamond mining and marketing company and is looking to take “effective control” of the diamond industry by upping its stake to more than 50 percent.
“We’ve communicated our firm intention to increase our stake in De Beers to a controlling stake; that is, upwards of 50 percent,” Boko said during an interview in New York.
He said the country has lined up a number of “potential collaborators,” naming specifically the Oman Sovereign Wealth Fund, and that the deal must close by the end of October, a timeline diamond industry analyst Paul Zimnisky described as “aggressive” given the complexity of the situation.
“Given the importance of this deal, I think it would be better if the interested parties formally and privately submit bids and then ultimately let Anglo American, the selling entity of De Beers, make a decision and then publicly announce the result,” he said via email.
“Given the amount of people who will be impacted by this deal, probably millions of people if we include all of the stakeholders of the larger diamond industry, the situation is very sensitive.”
Zimnisky added that private investors could be “turned off” if one of the governments involved is perceived to be too aggressive.
“At the end of the day, the industry needs the strongest ownership base possible for De Beers, which would presumably include private and public investors with aligned interests, i.e., to make the diamond industry succeed long-term with smart management and sufficient investment,” he said.
Anglo American publicly confirmed its intention to offload De Beers in May 2024 as part of a broader restructuring.
In an interview conducted earlier this year, Cook said the company’s separation from Anglo American likely will be complete in the first half of 2026.
When asked again about the timeline of the sale on Wednesday, De Beers referred all questions to Anglo American.
An Anglo American spokesperson said while the company cannot comment on specifics related to the De Beers deal, it continues to move forward with the sale of its 85 percent stake in the company.
The spokesperson said Anglo American also is preparing for a potential initial public offering (IPO) of De Beers on a stock exchange, a possibility Bloomberg reported on back in March.
“We are engaging the Government of Botswana and other stakeholders [in the process], as you would expect,” he added.
More on Sourcing
The Latest
ColumnistsMar 31, 2026
Q1 Clues That Reveal Where Your Jewelry Store’s Sales Are Heading These customer behavior patterns say a lot about how successful your jewelry store is going to be this year, Emmanuel Raheb writes.
CollectionsMar 31, 2026
Mejuri Adds Silver to ‘Puzzle’ CollectionMejuri’s popular collection of 18-karat yellow gold vermeil rings debuted in sterling silver alongside new “Puzzle” slider charms.
CollectionsMar 31, 2026
Buddha Mama, Ashley Longshore to Host Pop-Up in DallasThe Miami-based jewelry brand and the NYC-based artist will be in Dallas from April 9-11.
Brought to you by
Protect Your Customers and Your BusinessYou deserve to know what you are selling–to protect your customers as well as your business and your reputation.
EditorsMar 30, 2026
Tom Moses Looks Back on His Decades at GIA Moses, who will leave the lab in May after nearly 50 years, discusses his start in the business, gemstones that stand out, and what’s next.
Weekly QuizMar 26, 2026
This Week’s QuizTest your jewelry news knowledge by answering these questions.
TrendsMar 30, 2026
Oscar Heyman Debuts First Spring CatalogThe new catalog, which showcases 35 one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry, is a compliment to the company’s popular holiday catalog.
SourcingMar 30, 2026
Rio Tinto Hauls Last Load from DiavikProduction has ceased at the Canadian diamond mine, which has yielded more than 150 million carats of rough diamonds in its 23-year run.
Brought to you by
Is This You? Every Jeweler Has This Problem; We Have the Solution.Every jeweler faces the same challenge: helping customers protect what they love. Here’s the solution designed for today’s jewelry business.
MajorsMar 30, 2026
Tanishq Opens First New England LocationThe store opening marks the 10th United States location for the India-based jewelry retailer.
MajorsMar 27, 2026
Saks Global Has Changed Its Mind About Closing These 3 StoresTwo Saks Fifth Avenue locations, one in Florida and one in California, and one Neiman Marcus store are off the chopping block.
IndependentsMar 27, 2026
Jimmy West, Longtime LJG Executive Director, Dies at 72West, who started in the art department at the Leading Jewelers Guild in 1979, is remembered for his patience, kindness, and dedication.
CollectionsMar 27, 2026
Itä’s ‘Yarí Whirl’ Ring Tells Every Side of the StoryIn the “Tesoro” version of the ring, our Piece of the Week, each side of the gold hexagonal nugget has a unique colored gemstone design.
WatchesMar 26, 2026
Q&A: Citizen Watch America President Jeffrey Cohen on Eco-Drive’s 50th AnniversaryCohen discusses the evolution of Citizen’s light-powered technology, the brand’s cross-generational appeal, and tariffs.
IndependentsMar 26, 2026
Peter Smith Pens Book on Human Behavior in Sales“Essentially Human: On Sales and Salespeople" reveals the underlying human traits and behaviors of the most successful sales professionals.
CollectionsMar 26, 2026
Lionheart Celebrates 13 Years of ‘Cassandane’The collection features symbols of love, luck, and light, based on the story of Queen Cassandane and Cyrus the Great of Persia.
Events & AwardsMar 26, 2026
NAJA, Instappraise Introduce New ScholarshipIt’s the third scholarship to be launched as part of the partnership to help appraisers advance their professional credentials.
Events & AwardsMar 26, 2026
JA Still Accepting Entries for 2026 CASE AwardsThe deadline for entries in the jewelry design competition has been extended to April 3.
SourcingMar 25, 2026
Rob Bates Steps Down as JCK News Director After 28 years with JCK, the veteran industry journalist is launching his own publication on Substack called The Jewelry Wire.
GradingMar 25, 2026
New York’s Natural History Museum, Wiley To Build Minerals DatabaseWiley said the project will give scientists worldwide access to the American Museum of Natural’s History renowned mineral collection.
CollectionsMar 25, 2026
Boochier Turns Flower Friendship Bracelets Into Fine JewelryThe “Flower Puff” collection looks to beaded flower friendship bracelets from childhood, turning the silhouette into nostalgic fine jewelry.
Policies & IssuesMar 25, 2026
Community for Ethical Jewelry to Host Bench Jeweler Shortage WebinarSet for April 2, the webinar will discuss how the jewelry industry can address the workforce gap.
IndependentsMar 24, 2026
Lisa Bayer, Illustrator and Beloved Member of the Muse Family, Dies at 64Bayer, founder of Lisa Bayer Designs, is remembered as “a bright light in every room.”
AuctionsMar 24, 2026
White Diamonds Shine In Christie's Jewels Online SaleThe highest-grossing lot was a Tiffany & Co. ring set with a flawless, emerald-cut diamond of 10 carats.
SourcingMar 24, 2026
AGTA Solidifies Tucson Dates For 2027-2029The next three editions of AGTA GemFair Tucson will feature a five-day show that includes Sunday.
WatchesMar 24, 2026
Christie’s Names New Senior Specialist, WatchesFormer Sotheby’s executive Tom Heap has taken on the London-based role.
CrimeMar 23, 2026
NYPD Looking for 3 Jewelry Store Robbery SuspectsThe group of women allegedly robbed two Catbird stores and one Gorjana location on the afternoon of March 9.
FinancialsMar 23, 2026
Movado’s Q4 Sales Rise As Demand Grows From Younger Shoppers, WomenMovado CEO Efraim Grinberg noted continued strength in the fashion watch and accessible luxury segments in the U.S.
