De Beers Sale Nears, Ekati Closes

It’s been a quietly significant week in the diamond industry, with some rather astonishing announcements across the mining, trading and retail sectors. And we had a fantastically large diamond recovery to get the juices flowing.

Starting with mining, we saw operations cease at two legendary diamond mines.

A court filing revealed that Burgundy Diamond Mines is closing the Ekati mine in Canada after attempts to sell it failed. Annual production at Ekati peaked at around 7.4 million carats in 2017 and averaged around 4.5 million carats in recent years, before dropping below 3 million in 2025. Its average sales price has also declined by around 50% over the past two years.

That is not a new phenomenon for us, but it is another example of mining operations coming under pressure as prices fall.

The message was arguably starker as De Beers announced it would suspend operations at the Venetia mine in South Africa for two years, while also considering further restructuring and potential cuts across the business.

This is not just about Ekati and Venetia. De Beers is sending a stronger message about the state of the market, production levels and the structure of its business ahead of its pending sale into new ownership. See my full analysis on YouTube: The Venetia Mine Pause Reveals De Beers' Next Move or watch below.

Imminent Sale

Speaking of the sale of De Beers, Reuters reported that Anglo American has chosen a preferred buyer, citing a Botswana government official, while Bloomberg named the preferred bidder as a consortium headed by former De Beers CEO Gareth Penny.

Anglo American is due to publish its quarterly production report on Thursday, July 23, and its half-year earnings on July 30, raising the prospect that an announcement on the sale may be imminent....

This blog first appeared in the July 20 Pressing Matters Executive Memo. Read the full memo here, Pressing Matters.

Image: De Beers and Anglo American headquarters in South Africa. (Anglo American)