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Venetia Mines Final Carats Ahead of 2-Year Shutdown
The De Beers-owned diamond mine in South Africa is being put on ice as part of a round of previously announced cost-cutting measures.
The underground shaft at De Beers Group’s Venetia diamond mine in South Africa. The mine produced 418,000 carats of diamonds in the third quarter, its final output ahead of a planned two-year closure. (Photo courtesy of De Beers Group)
Gaborone, Botswana—Rough diamond production was down 11 percent for De Beers Group in the third quarter as the company moved forward with plans to cut back on mining amid the continued slowdown in demand.
The company reported Tuesday that it mined 6.8 million carats of diamonds in Q3, compared with 7.7 million in Q3 2025.
De Beers said the decrease mainly was due to planned plant maintenance at the Orapa mine in Botswana, and the ramp down of production at the Venetia mine in South Africa.
In July, the diamond miner and marketer announced it expected to lay off a “significant” number of employees at its London headquarters and pause production at Venetia for two years to cut costs.
In the third quarter of 2026, the mine produced 418,000 carats of diamonds, down 37 percent from 659,000 carats in the third quarter of 2025.
De Beers said Venetia is not expected to produce anymore carats ahead of the shutdown, though closure prep work will continue at the mine into early 2027.
In Botswana, production fell 20 percent to 4.8 million carats because of the work being done on the plant at the Orapa mine. De Beers said in the fourth quarter, it will be working on the processing plant at Jwaneng, which will “substantially” decrease production there.
Production rose 8 percent in Namibia to 495,000 carats and it more than doubled in Canada to 1.1 million carats because of the planned processing of higher-grade ore at the last remaining active diamond mine in the country, Gahcho Kué.
Earlier this month, it was announced that De Beers Canada Inc. would take full ownership of the mine, absorbing Mountain Province Diamonds’ 49 percent interest in the joint operation.
While the change in ownership won’t impact global diamond production, it will increase De Beers’ output, with 100 percent of Gahcho Kué’s production now attributable to De Beers.
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The company reported Tuesday that it mined 6.8 million carats of diamonds in Q3, compared with 7.7 million in Q3 2025.
De Beers said the decrease mainly was due to planned plant maintenance at the Orapa mine in Botswana, and the ramp down of production at the Venetia mine in South Africa.
In July, the diamond miner and marketer announced it expected to lay off a “significant” number of employees at its London headquarters and pause production at Venetia for two years to cut costs.
In the third quarter of 2026, the mine produced 418,000 carats of diamonds, down 37 percent from 659,000 carats in the third quarter of 2025.
De Beers said Venetia is not expected to produce anymore carats ahead of the shutdown, though closure prep work will continue at the mine into early 2027.
In Botswana, production fell 20 percent to 4.8 million carats because of the work being done on the plant at the Orapa mine. De Beers said in the fourth quarter, it will be working on the processing plant at Jwaneng, which will “substantially” decrease production there.
Production rose 8 percent in Namibia to 495,000 carats and it more than doubled in Canada to 1.1 million carats because of the planned processing of higher-grade ore at the last remaining active diamond mine in the country, Gahcho Kué.
Earlier this month, it was announced that De Beers Canada Inc. would take full ownership of the mine, absorbing Mountain Province Diamonds’ 49 percent interest in the joint operation.
While the change in ownership won’t impact global diamond production, it will increase De Beers’ output, with 100 percent of Gahcho Kué’s production now attributable to De Beers.
De Beers said the rough diamond market stabilized in the third quarter amid increased consumer demand in the United States and India, though lab-grown diamonds continue to take market share from lower-value natural diamonds.
Year-to-date, De Beers’s consolidated average realized price has fallen 37 percent to $97 per carat, the result of an 18 percent decline in the average rough price index and the fact that it sold more higher-value goods last year.
Third-quarter rough diamond sales totaled 9.8 million carats from two sights, generating revenue of $731 million, up from 5.7 million carats and $700 million in revenue in the third quarter of 2025.
De Beers is increasing its production guidance for 2026—25-28 million carats, up from 21-26 million carats—because it has taken full ownership of Gahcho Kué.
The company said it “continues to monitor rough diamond trading conditions in order to align output with prevailing demand.”
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