De Beers has reported a loss for the first half of the year amid a challenging market, even as it plans to ramp up output over the next two years in expectation of a recovery in the global diamond market.
The miner reported a deficit of $245 million for the six months that ended June 30, compared with a profit of $73 million a year earlier, it said Thursday. The loss comes as the company sold off some of its rough at low margins to certain sightholders as a means of offloading some of its goods.
De Beers has maintained its production forecast of 20 million to 23 million carats for 2025. However, that figure will grow to between 26 million and 29 million carats next year, and 28 million to 31 million carats in 2027.
“Medium-term recovery prospects are supported by diamond producers seeking to adjust supply to meet prevailing demand and a gradual improvement in demand, particularly in China,” the company stated. “Differentiation between natural and synthetic…diamonds continues. Falling wholesale lab-grown diamond prices and growing consumer awareness of the low production costs of lab-grown are driving their positioning as low-cost fashion jewelry. The outlook for natural diamonds is further bolstered by growing demand for verified provenance.”
Rough-diamond sales for the first half of 2025 slid 13% to $1.7 billion. Sales volume declined 8% to 11 million carats, while the average selling price slipped 5% to $155 per carat. Stronger demand for higher-value stones, which impacted the sales mix in the second quarter, partially offset a 14% decrease in the average rough price index, the company said.
Production for the period fell 23% to 10.2 million carats, with the company reducing mining in response to the slowdown in demand and higher levels of inventory in the midstream. Output in Botswana dropped 26% to 7.2 million carats as the company planned lower production at its Jwaneng mine and performed extended maintenance at Orapa. In South Africa, production was flat at 1.1 million carats while the Venetia deposit transitioned to underground mining. Meanwhile, the company processed lower-grade ore in Canada, causing output to slump 43% to 750,000 carats.
De Beers parent company Anglo American said its plans to offload the diamond miner were “well underway.” However, it explained, “While management remain committed to a divestment or demerger of the business, there remains uncertainty around the terms, legal structure and regulatory approvals for any such transaction. As a result, the business did not meet the criteria to be classified as held for sale as at 30 June 2025.”
Image: A sightholder examining a rough diamond. (De Beers)