De Beers suspends production at South Africa's Venetia mine for two years as demand falls

De Beers has halted work at its flagship South African diamond mine due to falling demand and competition from lab-grown gems.

• De Beers announced a two-year suspension of production at the Venetia mine in northern South Africa.
• The company said it needed to cut costs and streamline operations because of the depressed diamond market.
• The mine accounts for over 40% of South Africa's diamond output and employs more than 4,000 workers.
• De Beers pledged to use the downtime to improve infrastructure and increase capacity for when operations resume.