The diamond production in South Africa is at a 10-year low. Where the country used to produce an average of 8.5 million carats a year (before 2023), the production has now dropped to 6.1 million carats in 2023.
The drop has been caused by the temporary halt of production at De Beers' Venetia diamond mine, which accounted for 40% of the country's diamond production.
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.
Picture credits: De Beers