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- Diamond production in South Africa is at a 10-year low
- Closure of Venetia diamond mine has led to the drop
- De Beers is transitioning Venetia to underground to extend its life
Diamond mining production in South Africa has hit a 10-year low. Before 2023, the country produced an average of 8.5-million carats a year. By 2023, production had dropped to 6.1-million carats.
The reason for the drop is that De Beers’ Venetia diamond mine reached the end of its open-pit operations in December 2022. The mine accounted for 40% of South Africa’s diamond production, according to the Minerals Council.
South Africa remains among the top 10 diamond-producing countries, contributing 5% of the world’s diamonds. The largest producers are Russia with 37.3-million carats and Botswana, with an output of 25-million carats, according to 2023 Kimberley Process data.
De Beers is developing Venetia as an underground mine to extend its operational life until the 2040s. The company expects to extract 88-million carats from this new phase.
— 12 July, 2024Subscribe to the weekly newsletter for more charts like this
