Namibia diamond production lower
De Beers said its diamond production in Namibia was broadly unchanged in the second quarter of 2026, even as rough diamond trading conditions remained difficult and sales fell sharply.
The company said Namibian output totalled 531,000 carats in the three months to June, down 1% from 535,000 carats a year earlier. For the first half of the year, production fell 7% to 1.087 million carats from 1.166 million carats in the same period of 2025.
Debmarine Namibia produced 370,000 carats in the quarter, up 5% from 354,000 carats a year earlier, while Namdeb’s land operations produced 161,000 carats, down 20% from 202,000 carats.
De Beers said the retirement of the Coral Sea vessel in the comparable period and planned maintenance on the Mafuta vessel were largely offset by mining of higher-grade areas at Namdeb.
The Namibia figures came as the wider group reported a strong rebound in production, driven mainly by Botswana and Canada.
Total rough diamond production rose 88% year-on-year to 7.8 million carats in the second quarter, helped by the impact of extended maintenance at Orapa in Botswana in the prior-year period and planned mining of higher-grade ore at Jwaneng in Botswana and Gahcho Kue in Canada.
Production in Botswana more than doubled to 5.5 million carats, while Canada produced 1.0 million carats. South African output rose 24% to 734,000 carats.
But the company said it expected second-half production to ease, with planned maintenance at Orapa and Jwaneng and a proposed pause in production at Venetia in South Africa likely to reduce output from current levels.
Trading conditions in the diamond sector remained under pressure in the first half of 2026, De Beers said, citing geopolitical uncertainty, weaker consumer confidence and the impact of synthetic lab-grown diamonds on lower-value stones.
The group said its consolidated average realised price fell 32% to $105 a carat in the first half, reflecting a greater share of lower-value goods in its sales mix and a 16% decline in the average rough price index.
Rough diamond sales in the second quarter totalled 7.1 million carats, or 6.0 million carats on a consolidated basis, from three sights, generating consolidated revenue of $665m. That compared with 6.8 million carats on a consolidated basis and $1.2bn in revenue a year earlier.
De Beers kept its full-year production guidance unchanged at 21 million to 26 million carats on a 100% basis, saying it continued to monitor market conditions and adjust output to demand.
Unit cost guidance for 2026 was also left unchanged at about $80 per carat.
