De Beers Group will halt production at its Venetia diamond mine in Limpopo, South Africa, for two years, the company said. The site, which accounts for more than 40 percent of South Africa's annual diamond output, produced 2.2 million carats last year and employs roughly 4,400 people.
The suspension follows the shift to underground operations after open-pit mining ended in December 2022. Production from the $2.3 billion underground facility began in July 2023, extending work beneath the original pit that De Beers first began developing underground in 2012 to reach deposits deeper than 1,000 metres.
The move mirrors a previous pause of the Tuzo phase three expansion at De Beers' Gahcho Kué mine in Canada. It also comes amid ownership discussions: Angola initially proposed acquiring Anglo American's 85 percent stake in De Beers in October 2025 before negotiating a smaller 20 to 30 percent interest by February 2026.