De Beers Rough Sales Down 44%

(IDEX Online) - Rough sales at De Beers slumped during the three months to the end of June, down 44% to $665 million, as owners Anglo American said the sale of its diamond mining unit was progressing.

It expects the company to report another loss for De Beers during the first half of this year, with trading conditions still described as "challenging".

The average price per carat was down 37% year-on-year to $110, the company said in its Production Report, published on 23 July.

Rough diamond sales during Q2 2026 totaled 7.1 million carats (6.0 million carats on a consolidated basis) from three Sights.

Production for the quarter was 88% higher at 7.8 million carats, largely as a result of an extended maintenance shutdown at Orapa in Botswana last year, as well as the planned mining of higher-grade ore at both Jwaneng in Botswana and Gahcho Kue in Canada.

Planned plant maintenance at Orapa and Jwaneng during the second half of the year is expected to substantially decrease production levels from current rates.

Meanwhile Anglo's CEO Duncan Wanblad said the company was "progressing the sale process for De Beers, while concurrently advancing streamlining opportunities to improve cost performance and reduce capital expenditure to minimize the impact from challenging diamond markets".

He added: "The geopolitical and macroeconomic landscape remains uncertain, with the onset of the conflict in the Middle East adding to economic and consumer confidence risks," it said.

"Synthetic lab-grown diamonds also continued to affect demand for lower value natural diamonds adding pressure in more price-sensitive categories.

"However, stronger pricing for higher value goods supported a stable overall average price index throughout the period."

Production guidance for 2026 remains unchanged at between 21Mct and 26Mct.

Pic shows the De Beers' Orapa mine, in Botswana.