Diamond producer De Beers’ diamond production fell sharply in the fourth quarter of 2025, leading the company to revise its production guidance for 2026 amid persistent challenges in the global diamond market.

The company reported on February 5 that rough diamond output in the fourth quarter of 2025 had decreased by 35% year-on-year to 3.8-million carats.

Its Botswana mines recorded a 56% decrease in carats recovered to 1.9-million, as Jwaneng was offline for the entire quarter to optimise plant utilisation ahead of scheduled maintenance and Orapa underwent a maintenance shutdown in October.

Production in Namibia decreased by 21% to 500 000 ct owing to scheduled maintenance on two vessels and extended in-port time to install a next-generation subsea crawler on the Benguela Gem diamond recovery vessel.

Moreover, two vessels had also been decommissioned earlier in the year.

Meanwhile, output in South Africa fell by 10% to 500 000 ct because of planned plant maintenance.

Production in Canada, however, increased to 900 000 ct as the Gahcho Kué mine accessed new ore following its initial waste stripping phase.

The De Beers Group’s production for the fourth quarter was also 51% below the 7.66-million carats recovered in the third quarter of the year.

Production for the 12 months to December 31, 2025, also decreased to 21.66-million carats recovered, from the 24.71-million carats recovered in the 2024 financial year.

Meanwhile, for the fourth quarter, rough diamond sales from three Sights totalled 5.9-million carats, generating consolidated sales revenue of $571-million, up from the sale of 4.6-million carats for $543-million in revenue in the same quarter of 2024.

The consolidated average realised price for the full-year declined by 7% to $142/ct, driven by a 12% decrease in the average rough price index and the impact of stock rebalancing initiatives, partially offset by stronger demand for higher-value stones.

The realised price for the fourth quarter was affected by a higher proportion of lower-value goods being sold. The equivalent price index reduction including stock rebalancing actions would be a 25% decrease year-on-year, the company said.

De Beers said it was undertaking an impairment review of its carrying value, assessing the impact of prevailing diamond market conditions, which could result in an impairment at the full-year results.

The company revised its 2026 production guidance to between 21-million and 26-million carats on a 100% basis, down from the previous range of 26-million to 29-million carats, in response to ongoing trading uncertainties.

The company said it would continue to monitor rough diamond trading conditions to align output with prevailing demand.

Meanwhile, De Beers parent company Anglo American has said it would continue to pursue a dual-track separation for De Beers, with a structured sale process under way.