Diamond giant De Beers halts work at flagship South African mine as demand plummets
Image: BBC News
Sales are falling as some buyers switch to lab-grown diamonds
Mining giant De Beers is suspending production at South Africa's biggest diamond mine for two years, as changing consumer habits continue to shrink profits.
Prices across the industry have fallen because fewer people are buying diamonds than in the past, especially in China, and there is stiff competition from much cheaper lab-grown gems.
Announcing its decision to close the Venetia mine, De Beers said it needed to cut costs and streamline operations given the depressed state of the world diamond market.
The Venetia mine, in the far north of South Africa, accounts for more than 40% of the country's diamond production and employs more than 4,000 people.
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Workers' unions have previously warned against job losses in South Africa's mining sector, which employs almost half a million people, external and accounts for more than 4% of national GDP, external.