https://newsletter-en.creamermedia.com
Kimberley|De Beers|Ekapa Minerals|South Africa|Finsch|Venetia Mine|Diamond Mining|Job Creation|Minerals Council South Africa|Northern Cape|Lab-grown Diamonds
|||||||
kimberley|de-beers|ekapa-minerals|south-africa|finsch|venetia-mine|diamond-mining|job-creation|minerals-council-south-africa-organization|northern-cape|lab-grown-diamonds

Over 7 000 jobs lost in 10 years in SA's diamond mines

24th July 2026

     

Font size: - +

South Africa's diamond mines have lost over 7 000 jobs in the past decade. It is a 38% drop, according to figures from Minerals Council South Africa. The culprit? Lab-grown diamonds. They are nearly identical to the real thing but cheaper, and demand has swung hard enough in their direction that major producers, including De Beers, signed the 2025 Luanda Accord, an agreement to pool 1% of rough-diamond revenue into a joint marketing push for natural, mined diamonds.

To add to the problem, yearly diamond production in South Africa decreased from 8.2-million carats in 2015 to 6.8-million; while overall sales revenues decreased from R14.4-billion to R10.8-billion.

And that is before you factor in 2026, which has been rough for diamond mining. In February, a mud rush at Ekapa Minerals, in Kimberley, in the Northern Cape, killed five workers; the company has since gone into liquidation, and its liquidators are hunting for a buyer to keep it running, with offers due 14 August. Finsch has entered business rescue and started cutting jobs, while De Beers has hit pause on Venetia for two years, putting over a thousand jobs on the line.

To watch Creamer Media's latest video reports, click here
 

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Article Enquiry

Email Article

Save Article

Feedback

To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here

Showroom

MBE Minerals SA (Pty) Ltd
MBE Minerals SA (Pty) Ltd

Your global lifecycle technology & service partner for materials & minerals processing equipment for coal, iron ore, copper, manganese & other...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Mitsubishi Chemical Group
Mitsubishi Chemical Group

Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials South Africa (Pty) Ltd is a leading manufacturer of high-performance engineering plastics for the mining...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

TSAM commemorates production of new Hilux
TSAM commemorates production of new Hilux
12th August 2026

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







301

sq:0.086 0.167s - 136pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now