De Beers

The De Beers Group is a South African–British corporation that specializes in the diamond industry, including mining, exploitation, retail, inscription, grading, trading and industrial diamond manufacturing.<ref>Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "De Beers S.A.". Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Sep. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/topic/De-Beers-SA. Accessed 28 August 2023.</ref> The company is active in open-pit, underground, large-scale alluvial and coastal mining. It operates in 35 countries, with mining taking place in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Canada. It also has an artisanal mining business, Gemfair, which operates in Sierra Leone.

From its inception in 1888 until the start of the 21st century, De Beers controlled 80% to 85% of rough diamond distribution and was considered a monopoly.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> By 2000, the company's control of the world diamond supply decreased to 63%.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The company was founded in 1888 by British businessman Cecil Rhodes, who was financed by the South African diamond magnate Alfred Beit and the London-based N M Rothschild & Sons bank.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1926, Ernest Oppenheimer, a German immigrant to Britain and later South Africa who had earlier founded mining company Anglo American with American financier J. P. Morgan,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> was elected to the board of De Beers.<ref name="The Story of De Beers">Template:Cite book</ref> He built and consolidated the company's global monopoly over the diamond industry until he died in 1957. During this time, he was involved in several controversies, including price fixing and trust behaviour, and was accused of not releasing industrial diamonds for the US war effort during World War II.<ref name="Janine P. Roberts 2003">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Theodor Emanuel Gregory 1977">Template:Cite book</ref>

In 2011, Anglo American took control of De Beers after buying the Oppenheimers' family stake of 40% for US$5.1 billion (£3.2 billion) and increasing its stake to 85%, ending the 80-year Oppenheimer control of the company.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> The company is currently owned 85% by Anglo American and 15% by the Government of Botswana.

In May 2024, Anglo American announced its intention to spin off or sell De Beers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

Foundation

File:CecilRhodes.jpg

Cecil Rhodes founded De Beers in 1888

File:1st Baron Rothschild.jpg

Nathan Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild, of the Rothschild family, funded the development of De Beers

File:De Beers Consolidated Mines 1902.jpg

Preference share of the De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd., issued 1 March 1902

The name 'De Beers' was derived from the two Dutch settlers, brothers Diederik Arnoldus de Beer (1825–1878) and Johannes Nicolaas de Beer (1830–1883), who owned a South African farm named Vooruitzicht (Dutch for "prospect" or "outlook") near Zandfontein in the Boshof District of Orange Free State. After they discovered diamonds on their land, the increasing demands of the British government forced them to sell their farm on 31 July 1871 to merchant Alfred Johnson Ebden (1820–1908) for £6,600. Vooruitzicht would become the site of the Big Hole and the De Beers mine, two successful diamond mines. Their name, which was given to one of the mines, subsequently became associated with the company.<ref>Famous people, Cape Town Diamond Museum</ref>

Cecil Rhodes, the founder of the British South Africa Company, got his start by renting water pumps to miners during the diamond rush that started in 1869,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Diamonds : from birth to eternity">Template:Cite book</ref> when an 83.5 carat diamond called the 'Star of South Africa' was found at Hopetown near the Orange River in South Africa.<ref name="Diamonds : from birth to eternity"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He invested the profits of this operation into buying up claims of small mining operators, with his operations soon expanding into a separate mining company.<ref name="Kretchmer"/> He soon secured funding from the Rothschild family, who would finance his business expansion.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Knowles">Template:Cite book</ref> De Beers Consolidated Mines was formed in 1888 by the merger of the companies of Barney Barnato and Cecil Rhodes. By this time, the company was the sole owner of all diamond mining operations in the country.<ref name="Kretchmer"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1889, Rhodes negotiated a strategic agreement with the London-based Diamond Syndicate, which agreed to purchase a fixed quantity of diamonds at an agreed price, thereby regulating output and maintaining prices.<ref name="Knowles" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The agreement soon proved to be very successful – for example, during the trade slump of 1891–1892, supply was curtailed to maintain the price.<ref name="Newbury">Template:Cite book</ref> Rhodes was concerned about the break-up of the new monopoly, stating to shareholders in 1896 that the company's "only risk is the sudden discovery of new mines, which human nature will work recklessly to the detriment of us all".<ref name="Knowles"/>

The Second Boer War proved to be a challenging time for the company. Kimberley was besieged as soon as war broke out, thereby threatening the company's valuable mines. Rhodes personally moved into the city at the onset of the siege to put political pressure on the British government to divert military resources towards relieving the siege rather than more strategic war objectives.Template:Citation needed Despite being at odds with the military,<ref name="handbook">Template:Cite book</ref> Rhodes placed the full resources of the company at the disposal of the defenders, manufacturing shells, defences, an armoured train and a gun named Long Cecil in the company workshops.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Oppenheimer control

In 1898, diamonds were discovered on farms near Pretoria, Transvaal. One led to the discovery of the Premier Mine. The Premier Mine was registered in 1902 and the Cullinan Diamond, the largest rough diamond ever discovered, was found there in 1905.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> (The Premier Mine was renamed the Cullinan Mine in 2003.) However, its owner refused to join the<ref name="Factbox: De Beers past and present">Template:Cite news</ref> De Beers cartel.<ref name="Zoellner">Template:Cite book</ref> Instead, the mine started selling to a pair of independent dealers named Bernard and Ernest Oppenheimer, thereby weakening the De Beers stronghold.<ref name="EB"/> Francis Oats, who became Chairman of De Beers in 1908, was dismissive of the threats from the Premier Mine and the finds in German South West Africa.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> However, production soon equalled all of the De Beers mines combined. Ernest Oppenheimer was appointed the local agent for the powerful London Syndicate, rising to the position of mayor of Kimberley within 10 years. He understood the core principle that underpinned De Beers's success, stating in 1910 that "common sense tells us that the only way to increase the value of diamonds is to make them scarce, that is to reduce production".<ref name="Zoellner"/>

During World War I, the Premier Mine was finally absorbed into De Beers. When Rhodes died in 1902, De Beers controlled 90% of the world's diamond production. Ernest Oppenheimer took over the chairmanship of the company in 1929,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> after buying shares and being appointed to the board in 1926.<ref name="EB">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="The Story of De Beers"/> Oppenheimer was very concerned about the discovery of diamonds in 1908 in German South West Africa, fearing that the increased supply would swamp the market and force prices down.<ref name="Janine P. Roberts 2003"/><ref name="Theodor Emanuel Gregory 1977"/> Former CIA chief Admiral Stansfield Turner claimed that De Beers restricted US access to industrial diamonds needed for the country's war effort during World War II.<ref name="Roberts">Template:Cite book</ref>

During the early 1930s, the company conducted experimental work which in large part pioneered the use of diamond drills. This was highly preferable to more expensive and rarer carbons previously in use.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref> The Free State Gold Rush was made possible in part due to this innovation, as the fields required deep drilling to reach gold-bearing reefs.<ref name=":0" />

In May 1955, Ernest Oppenheimer opened the new headquarters which combined the operations of Anglo American and the De Beers group.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> After Ernest died in November 1957, operation of Anglo and De Beers were passed on to his son, Harry Oppenheimer.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Under Harry, the company expanded to several different countries around the globe, including Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Portugal, Zambia, and Tanzania.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In South Africa, Harry opposed apartheid, arguing that it hindered economic growth.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Despite this, De Beers has been criticized for profiting from the system during the apartheid period.<ref name="Factbox: De Beers past and present"/> By 1973, Anglo and De Beers accounted for 10 percent of South Africa's gross national product and 30 percent of the country's exports.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, De Beers attempted to secretly enter the United States' diamond market, being forced to divest its American assets in 1975 to avoid the risk of violating anti-trust laws.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Harry Oppenheimer stepped down as the chairman and director of Anglo-American and De Beers in December 1982.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

21st-century changes Template:Anchor

File:Vladimir Putin in South Africa 5-6 September 2006-16.jpg

Russian president Vladimir Putin meeting former De Beers chairman Nicky Oppenheimer in South Africa in 2006

During the 20th century, De Beers used several methods to leverage its dominant position to influence the international diamond market.<ref name="Kretchmer">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Lopus"/> First, it attempted to convince independent producers to join its single channel monopoly. When that did not work, it flooded the market with diamonds similar to those of producers who refused to join in, depressing their price and undermining return for the resistant. It also purchased and stockpiled diamonds produced by other manufacturers as well as surplus diamonds in order to control prices by limiting supply.<ref name="Campbell"/> Finally, it bought diamonds when prices fell considerably naturally, to constrict supply and drive their value back up, such as during the Great Depression.<ref>William Boyes; Michael Melvin (1 January 2012). Microeconomics. Cengage Learning. pp. 219–. Template:ISBN.</ref>

In 2000, the De Beers business model changed<ref name="Campbell">Template:Cite book</ref> because of factors such as the decision by producers in Canada and Australia to distribute diamonds outside the De Beers channel,<ref name="Kretchmer"/><ref name="Lopus">Template:Cite book</ref> as well as increasingly negative publicity surrounding blood diamonds, which forced De Beers to protect its image by limiting sales to its own mined products.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The combination of a more fragmented and thus more competitive diamond market, increased transparency, and greater liquidity,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> caused De Beers's market share of rough diamonds to fall from as high as 90% in the 1980s to 29.5% in 2019.<ref name="Anglo American">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Third-party inline

Seeing these developing trends, the Oppenheimer family announced in November 2011 its intention to sell its entire 40% stake in De Beers to Anglo American plc, thereby increasing Anglo American's ownership of the company to 85% (with the remaining 15% owned by the Government of the Republic of Botswana).<ref name=ownership>Template:Cite news</ref> The transaction was worth £3.2 billion (US$5.1 billion) in cash and ended the Oppenheimer dynasty's 80-year ownership of De Beers.<ref name=Guardian>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2020, the De Beers Company released a statement of a values change, promising the world that it is committed to not using slave labor within the company.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2025, De Beers reported holding an inventory of unsold mined diamonds valued at approximately US$2 billion. The company attributed this to a decline in demand for natural diamonds, driven in part by the growing popularity of lab-grown diamonds, which have become significantly more affordable. By 2025, lab-grown diamonds were reported to be approximately 90% less expensive than their mined counterparts, compared to a 10% price difference in 2018.<ref name="Walmart" />

Marketing

De Beers successfully advertised diamonds to manipulate consumer demand. One of the most effective marketing strategies has been the marketing of diamonds as a symbol of love and commitment.<ref name="atlantic" /> Copywriter Frances Gerety (1916–1999) working for N. W. Ayer & Son coined the famous advertising slogan, 'A Diamond is Forever', in 1947.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 2000, Advertising Age magazine named 'A Diamond is Forever' the best advertising slogan of the 20th century.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The slogan likely inspired the James Bond book, film and song title Diamonds Are Forever.

Other successful campaigns include the 'eternity ring' (meant as a symbol of continuing affection and appreciation),<ref name="atlantic">Template:Cite news</ref> the 'trilogy ring' (meant to represent the past, present, and future of a relationship) and the 'right hand ring' (meant to be bought and worn by women as a symbol of independence).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

De Beers ran television advertisements featuring silhouettes of people wearing diamonds, set to the music of 'Palladio' by Karl Jenkins. The campaign, titled "Shadows and Lights" first ran in the first quarter of 1993. The song would later inspire a compilation album, Diamond Music, released in 1996, which features the 'Palladio' suite. A 2010 commercial for Verizon Wireless parodied the De Beers spots.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In May 2018, De Beers introduced a new brand of jewellery called "Lightbox" made with synthetic diamonds. The synthetic stones start at $200 for a quarter-carat to $800 for a full-carat diamond. The new lab-grown diamonds retail for about one-tenth the cost of naturally occurring diamonds. The new brand began selling in September 2018, and the stones are produced in Gresham, Oregon, a $94 million facility using the region's cheap electricity, which opened in 2018 with a capacity for 500,000 rough carats of diamonds per year.<ref name="bizj_Newd">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="pamp_Synt">Template:Cite web</ref> <ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In May 2025, De Beers announced the discontinuation of the Lightbox brand, citing challenges in competing with the increasingly low prices of lab-grown diamonds and shifting market dynamics.<ref name="Walmart">Template:Cite web</ref>

Operations

File:De Beers Mine shaft.png

De Beers Mine shaft

File:Premier Mine shaft.png

Premier Mine shaft

File:Snap Lake Diamond Mine.jpg

The De Beers Snap Lake Mine in Canada

Mining in Botswana takes place through the mining company Debswana,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a 50–50 joint venture with the Government of the Republic of Botswana. It operates four mines – Jwaneng, Orapa, Letlhakane and Damtshaa, though Damtshaa was put on care and maintenance in 2015.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In Namibia, mining is carried out through Namdeb Holdings,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a 50–50 joint venture with the Government of the Republic of Namibia. Namdeb Holdings is made up of Debmarine Namibia (covering offshore mining) and Namdeb Diamond Corporation (land-based coastal mining). For offshore mining, motor vessels are used, including the 12,000-tonne, 113-metre-long SS Nujoma, built at a cost of $157 million and named after Sam Nujoma, Namibia's founding president. This vessel, the world's most advanced diamond exploration and sampling vessel, began full operations in June 2017.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Benguela Gem began operation in 2022. At 177 meters it's the world's largest diamond vessel and cost De Beers $486 million to build.<ref name="marinelog">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="baird">Template:Cite web</ref>

De Beers Consolidated Mines is responsible for the De Beers mining in South Africa.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is 74% owned by De Beers and 26% by a board-based black economic empowerment partner, Ponahalo Investments. There are two mines – Venetia and Voorspoed.

In 2008, De Beers began production at the Snap Lake mine in the Northwest Territories, Canada;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> this was the first De Beers mine outside Africa and was Canada's first completely underground diamond mine.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, production was suspended when the mine was put on care and maintenance in 2015.<ref name="MJ_2015">Template:Cite web</ref> De Beers opened the Victor mine in Ontario, Canada, the same year, a day after Snap Lake.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This was followed by the opening of the company's third mine in Canada, Gahcho Kue, in September 2016.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Trading of rough diamonds takes place through two channels – De Beers Global Sightholder Sales<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (GSS) and De Beers Auction Sales.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> GSS sells about 90% of De Beers's rough diamonds, by value, and features wholly owned and joint venture operations in South Africa (De Beers Sightholder Sales South Africa), Botswana (DTCB), and Namibia (NDTC). They sort, value and sell 33% (2013) of the world's rough diamonds by value.<ref name="Anglo American"/>

There are two main types of customers for rough diamonds – Sightholders and Accredited Buyers. Sightholders have a term contract. Accredited Buyer status, introduced in 2015, allows companies that are not traditional Sightholders to access diamonds that were not allocated to existing Sightholders.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> De Beers also sells about 10% of its rough diamonds through online auction sales. The company pioneered the approach in 2008 when it broke with 44 years of direct sales to hold the diamond industry's first online international auction sale. It is now the world's leader in this kind of auction sale.

De Beers employs more than 30,000 people around the globe on five continents, with more than 17,000 employees in Africa. Almost 8,000 people are employed in Botswana, around 6,200 in South Africa, nearly 2,900 in Namibia, some 1,260 in Canada and about 320 in exploration.

In February 2020, De Beers reported its worst set of earnings since the company was bought by miner Anglo American in 2012.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Business structure and brands

On 4 November 2011, Anglo American plc and CHL Holdings announced their agreement for Anglo American to acquire an incremental interest in De Beers, increasing Anglo American's 45% shareholding in the world's leading diamond company to 85%. De Beers plc was originally incorporated as De Beers Société Anonyme in 2000 in Luxembourg. Following the closure of this office, the company was reclassified as De Beers plc in 2017, with its head office now in Jersey. It is made up of two shareholdings: Anglo American plc has an 85% shareholding and the Government of the Republic of Botswana owns 15% directly. De Beers plc is the holding company of The De Beers Group of Companies.<ref name=autogenerated3>Template:Cite web</ref> It is involved in many parts of the diamond value chain, from mining to sales, and is made up of a series of joint ventures and wholly owned operations.

The joint ventures are:

• Debmarine Namibia
• Debswana<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• DTCB<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Namdeb<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• NDTC

The wholly owned operations are in southern Africa and Canada. Also wholly owned are Forevermark, De Beers Jewellers,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the International Institute of Diamond Valuation, De Beers Ventures, the International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research and Element Six (Umicore has a 40% stake in Element Six's abrasives division).

Forevermark

Template:Main Forevermark was launched in 2008 as one of the two diamond brands from The De Beers Group of Companies. According to the company website, "Each Forevermark diamond is inscribed with a promise: that it is beautiful, rare and responsibly sourced." Forevermark diamonds are inscribed with an icon and unique identification number, albeit invisibly to the naked eye: the Forevermark inscription is Template:Fracth of a micron deep. This inscription helps distinguish Forevermark diamonds from other natural diamonds though, similarly to when distinguishing natural diamonds from synthetic diamonds, it requires specialist detection equipment to view. The inscription also helps maintain scarcity: the Forevermark website boasts that only a tiny percentage of diamonds qualify for the Forevermark brand.<ref name="debeersbrands">Template:Cite web</ref>

De Beers London

De Beers Diamond Jewellers (DBDJ) was established in 2001 as a 50:50 joint venture between The De Beers Group of Companies and LVMH, the French luxury goods company.<ref name="debeersbrands" /> The first De Beers boutique opened in 2002 on London's Old Bond Street as the brand's flagship store. Since then, stores have opened in various cities around the world. In March 2017, The De Beers Group of Companies acquired LVMH's 50% shareholding in DBDJ and new name De Beers Jewellers was unveiled.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2025, De Beers Jewellers was rebranded as De Beers London, emphasising it's links with one of the world's fashion and luxury capitals.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Institute of Diamonds

The International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research (IIDGR) was set up by De Beers in 2008, with the aim of providing a range of services and equipment in the field of diamond verification. It is based in London, Antwerp and, from 2015, in Surat, India. The IIDGR works only on diamonds that meet the requirements of the United Nations' World Diamond Council Kimberley Process.Template:Citation needed

Blood diamonds and the Kimberley Process

Template:Main In 1999, a campaign by Global Witness to highlight the role of diamonds in international conflicts led to a review by the United Nations. The initial focus of the UN's investigation was on Jonas Savimbi's UNITA movement in Angola, which was found to have bartered uncut diamonds for weaponry despite international economic and diplomatic sanctions being in effect through United Nations Security Council Resolution 1173.<ref name="Fleshman">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1999, De Beers Group stopped all outside buying of diamonds in order to guarantee the conflict-free status of their diamonds effective from 26 March 2000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="conflictposition">De Beers Group De Beers Report to Stakeholders 2005/6 – Ethics, "Conflict and Instability" Template:Webarchive De Beers Group. Retrieved 11 February 2007.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In December 2000, following the recommendations of the Fowler Report, the UN adopted the landmark General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/56<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> supporting the creation of an international certification scheme for rough diamonds. By November 2002, negotiations between governments, the international diamond industry, led by De Beers, and civil society organisations resulted in the creation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), which sets out the requirements for controlling rough diamond production and trade and became effective in 2003.Template:Citation needed

De Beers states that 100% of the diamonds it now sells are conflict-free and that all De Beers diamonds are purchased in compliance with national law, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and its own Diamond Best Practice Principles.<ref name="autogenerated1">Best Practice Principles – The De Beers Group Template:Webarchive</ref> The Kimberley process has helped restore the reputation of the industry, as well as eliminating sources of excess supply.<ref name=botswana>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2018, De Beers used blockchain technology to successfully track 100 high-value diamonds.<ref name=reuters>Template:Cite news</ref> The diamonds were tracked through the manufacturing process from the mine to the retailer in order to ensure their quality and conflict-free status.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2019, they launched their own end-to-end traceability platform called Tracr to enable all diamonds to be identified and traced as they move from the mine to the store. Signet and the Russian-based Alrosa are using the technology.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Corporate affairs

File:17 Charterhouse Street 2.jpg

Headquarters at 17 Charterhouse Street, London

In August 2017, De Beers partnered with the Stanford Graduate School of Business to accelerate business ventures to market in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As part of two programs, the partnership is set to help teach early entrepreneurs how to commercialize their business ideas.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The partnership is a three-year, $3 million deal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In September 2017, De Beers partnered with UN Women to help the advancement of women within the company and the countries it operates in.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2018, the two entities launched a program to support 500 women micro-entrepreneurs in Blouberg and Musina communities, near De Beers's Venetia diamond mine.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In May 2018, De Beers's group company Element Six launched a lab-grown diamond brand to sell jewellery directly to consumers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Former operations

International Institute of Diamond Valuation

The International Institute of Diamond Valuation (IIDV) was launched by De Beers Group in March 2016. Operating in partnership with diamond jewellery retailers, it provided a reselling service for all diamonds, regardless of value.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In April 2019, De Beers closed its IIDV division.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

De Beers Ventures

De Beers Ventures was established by De Beers Group in June 2017 to consider minority stake investments in start-ups and growth companies that could be of benefit to De Beers Group or the broader diamond sector.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It has since been dispanded.

Legal issues

Sherman Antitrust Act

During World War II, Ernest Oppenheimer attempted to negotiate a way around the Sherman Antitrust Act by proposing that De Beers register a US branch of the Diamond Syndicate Incorporated. In this way, his company could provide the US with the industrial diamonds it desperately sought for the war effort in return for immunity from prosecution after the war; however his proposal was rejected by the US Justice Department when it was discovered that De Beers had no intention of stockpiling any industrial diamonds in the US.<ref name="Roberts"/> In 1945, the Justice Department finally filed an antitrust case against De Beers, but the case was dismissed as the company had no presence on US soil.<ref name="Epstein">Template:Cite book</ref>

Relocation of Indigenous San people in Botswana

As of 2024, De Beers owns and operates, solely or jointly, 5 diamond mines in Botswana.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A long dispute has existed between the interests of De Beers and the San (Bushman) tribe. The San have been facing threats of forcible relocation since 1980s, when the diamond resources were discovered.<ref name=survivalint>Template:Cite web</ref> A campaign was fought in an attempt to bring an end to what the indigenous rights organisation, Survival International, considers to be a genocide of a tribe that has been living in those lands for tens of thousands of years.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Several international fashion models, including Iman, Lily Cole and Erin O'Connor, who were previously involved with advertising for the companies' diamonds, supported the campaign.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> De Beers sold one mine in Botswana to Gem Diamonds in 2007.<ref name=survivalint />

Industrial diamonds

In 2004, De Beers pled guilty and paid a US$10 million fine to the United States Department of Justice to settle a 1994 charge that De Beers had colluded with General Electric to fix the price of industrial diamonds.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2008, De Beers agreed to pay a US$295 million class-action settlement after accusations of price fixing.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The company appealed against the decision but ended up paying the settlement in 2013.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

European Commission

In February 2006, De Beers entered into legally binding commitments with the European Commission to cease purchasing rough diamonds from Russian mining company Alrosa as of the end of 2008 in order to ensure competition between the two companies.<ref>Alrosa Purchasing Commitments – The De Beers Group Template:Webarchive</ref>

South Africa's rough diamond trade

In 2014, the Leverhulme Centre for the Study of Value, based at the University of Manchester, published a report authored by Sarah Bracking and Khadija Sharife, identifying over US$3.3 billion in price fixing within the South African rough diamond trade from 2004 to 2012, leading to an estimated deficit in tax paid of ZAR 1 billion per year. The report found significant evidence of profit shifting through volume and value manipulation.<ref>Sarah Bracking and Khadija Sharife http://thestudyofvalue.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/WP4-Bracking-Sharife-Rough-and-polished-15May.pdf A further version of this was later published as Khadija Sharife & Sarah Bracking (2016) Diamond pricing and valuation in South Africa's extractive political economy, Review of African Political Economy, 43:150, 556-575, DOI: 10.1080/03056244.2016.1177504. The original report is also available at lcsv-wp4-bracking-sharife-revised-16062014.pdf (manchester.ac.uk) (30th January 2022)</ref> Sharife simultaneously published an article<ref>Khadija Sharife, 100 Reporters http://100r.org/2014/05/rough-and-polished/</ref> disclosing the political system that cultivated revenue leakage, including the donation of De Beers staff to the State Diamond Trader (SDT). The report, like the article, utilised aggregated data produced by the Kimberley Process (KP) certificates of import-exports, relying on figures listed by the diamond companies themselves, in which De Beers was the dominant player. The South African Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) disclosed that De Beers did not authorise them to publish figures involving values, sales, pricing and other data, preventing transparency of the industry.Template:Citation needed

See also

• Blood diamond
• Canadian diamonds
• De Beers Diamond Oval
• Julian Ogilvie Thompson
• List of diamonds
• List of synthetic diamond manufacturers
• Peace in Africa (ship), diamond mining dredge
• Synthetic diamond
• The Case of the Disappearing Diamonds (TV documentary)

References

• Template:Cite news
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book

External links

• De Beers Group
• De Beers Jewellers