Botswana’s Debswana Diamond Company is temporarily pausing production at some of its mines, cutting output in response to prolonged weakness in the global diamond market, the company said on June 6.The company, a 50-50 joint venture between Botswana’s government and global giant De Beers, now plans to reduce output to 15 million carats in 2025.
The global diamond market has experienced a downturn since the second half of 2023, which caused Debswana to cut production by 27% to 17.93 million carats in 2024. Debswana, which accounts for about 90% of Botswana’s diamond sales, reported a 46% drop in sales revenues last year.