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De Beers’ Production Jumps 88 Percent in Q2
Production also was up in the first half of 2026 but is expected to “substantially” decrease in H2 as two key mines undergo maintenance.
Trucks at the Orapa mine in Botswana. Production in the country, De Beers’ main source of diamonds, doubled to 5.5 million carats in the second quarter as production at the mine returned to normal levels.
London—Production at De Beers Group’s diamond mines rose significantly in the second quarter and first half of 2026 ahead of an expected drop-off in the second half of the year.
According to figures released Thursday, De Beers recovered 7.8 million carats of diamonds, up 88 percent compared with 4.1 million carats in the second quarter of 2025.
Production more than doubled (up 107 percent) in Botswana against a soft Q2 2025 and jumped 185 percent at the Gahcho Kué mine in Canada and 24 percent at the Venetia mine in South Africa.
Last week, De Beers announced plans to shut down production at Venetia for two years to save money. The production “pause” will start in the second half of the year.
In Namibia, production essentially was flat year-over-year. Mining higher-grade areas on land was enough to offset the drop in diamonds recovered from the ocean due to the retirement of the Coral Sea marine mining vessel and maintenance on the Mafuta vessel.
De Beers attributed the significant second-quarter increase to a return to normal operations at Orapa—the Botswana mine was closed for maintenance in Q2 2025—and its decision to mine higher-grade ore, which yields more diamonds, at Jwaneng in Botswana and Gahcho Kué in Canada.
The increase isn’t expected to extend into the second half of the year, with Orapa and Jwaneng scheduled to undergo plant maintenance, which will “substantially” decrease production levels, De Beers said.
Year-to-date, De Beers has recovered 14.9 million carats of diamonds, a 46 percent increase from 10.2 million carats in the first half of 2025.
The company expects to mine a total of 21-26 million carats of diamonds this year, compared with 21.7 million in 2025.
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According to figures released Thursday, De Beers recovered 7.8 million carats of diamonds, up 88 percent compared with 4.1 million carats in the second quarter of 2025.
Production more than doubled (up 107 percent) in Botswana against a soft Q2 2025 and jumped 185 percent at the Gahcho Kué mine in Canada and 24 percent at the Venetia mine in South Africa.
Last week, De Beers announced plans to shut down production at Venetia for two years to save money. The production “pause” will start in the second half of the year.
In Namibia, production essentially was flat year-over-year. Mining higher-grade areas on land was enough to offset the drop in diamonds recovered from the ocean due to the retirement of the Coral Sea marine mining vessel and maintenance on the Mafuta vessel.
De Beers attributed the significant second-quarter increase to a return to normal operations at Orapa—the Botswana mine was closed for maintenance in Q2 2025—and its decision to mine higher-grade ore, which yields more diamonds, at Jwaneng in Botswana and Gahcho Kué in Canada.
The increase isn’t expected to extend into the second half of the year, with Orapa and Jwaneng scheduled to undergo plant maintenance, which will “substantially” decrease production levels, De Beers said.
Year-to-date, De Beers has recovered 14.9 million carats of diamonds, a 46 percent increase from 10.2 million carats in the first half of 2025.
The company expects to mine a total of 21-26 million carats of diamonds this year, compared with 21.7 million in 2025.
While production increased, the rough diamond market remained “challenging” in the first half of the year, with the conflict in the Middle East adding to economic uncertainty and potentially damaging consumer confidence, De Beers said.
Lab-grown diamonds also continue to affect demand for smaller, less expensive natural diamonds, though stronger pricing for higher value goods supported a “stable” overall average price index.
De Beers said in the first half of 2026, the consolidated average realized price declined by 32 percent to $105/carat due to the sales mix containing a higher proportion of lower-value goods and a 16 percent decrease in the average rough price index, which now includes the impact of the “stock rebalancing” De Beers did in 2025.
Rough diamond sales in Q2 2026 totaled 7.1 million carats from three sights, generating revenue of $665 million, down from 7.6 million carats from three sights and revenue of $1.2 billion in Q2 2025.
Mining giant Anglo American is in the process of offloading De Beers as part of a broader restructuring.
Reports surfaced late last week that Anglo has identified a top bidder for the diamond miner and marketer, a consortium led by former De Beers CEO Gareth Penny.
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