Diamonds
De Beers
The diamond miner and marketer founded by Cecil Rhodes in 1888, now owned 85% by Anglo American and 15% by the government of Botswana. After years of weak demand and competition from lab-grown stones, Anglo is running a sale process for the business. It remains the world's leading diamond producer by value through its southern African joint ventures.
- Founded
- 1888
- Headquarters
- London
- Recent stories
- 7+
Overview
What De Beers does
The diamond miner and marketer founded by Cecil Rhodes in 1888, now owned 85% by Anglo American and 15% by the government of Botswana. After years of weak demand and competition from lab-grown stones, Anglo is running a sale process for the business. It remains the world's leading diamond producer by value through its southern African joint ventures.
Mining is concentrated in Botswana through Debswana (a 50:50 venture with the government), in Namibia through Namdeb Holdings, and in South Africa through De Beers Consolidated Mines, which runs the Venetia mine; it also has Gahcho Kue in Canada. In July 2026 De Beers said it would halt Venetia for two years as part of a cost-cutting drive, with output shifted to other operations. Rough diamond production was 21.7Mct in 2025.
Rough diamonds
Annual output
21.7Mct rough diamonds (2025)
Production
Output by commodity
Diamonds2,082,000caratsDe Beers) (Namibia (Debmarine Namibia 1,435k ct + Namdeb land operations 647k ct), 100% basisSource
Leadership
Who runs it
Deals
Deal tracker →Deals involving De Beers
In the news
Every storyLatest on De Beers
De Beers to pause Venetia diamond mine production for two years
Envusa's Mooi Plaats solar plant starts powering Anglo American's mines
De Beers valuation slashed to $2.3bn as sale may be split in two or three parts
De Beers slashes 2026 output guidance as Anglo weighs fresh writedown
Gareth Penny's consortium is the right fit for De Beers, says Botswana Diamonds boss
People moves
Comings and goings
- Appointed
Moses Madondo — Chief Executive Officer-designate, Thungela Resources
Thungela announced that founding CEO July Ndlovu would retire in 2025 on reaching the company's retirement age, and named De Beers mining executive Moses Madondo as CEO-designate from 1 August. Madondo, a mining engineer who began his career at AngloGold Ashanti, inherits the coal producer Ndlovu steered through its 2021 demerger from Anglo American.