De Beers, South Africa’s main mine, stopped diamond production for two years

Labor unions have previously warned of job losses in South Africa’s mining sector It employs nearly half a million people., External And It covers more than 4% of the national GDP, External.

De Beers is majority owned by Anglo American, which It is said to be trying to sell and focus on the growing copper market., External It has recently been fueled by the AI ​​boom.

It was promised by De Beers, a miner of Venice. Use those two years of rest to make the infrastructure more “efficient” and “capacity”., ExternalIt is ready to launch the product once the market conditions improve.

Times are tough in the industry, which sees the International Diamond Consultants rough diamond price index cut in half from 2022.

Lab-grown diamonds have gained popularity in recent years as consumers raise ethical concerns about miners’ pay and working conditions, as well as environmental damage.

However, De Beers and other established firms have cashed in on those industry changes by lowering the prices they pay for natural diamonds.

De Beers is not the first major manufacturer to cut jobs in recent years, but it holds a certain place in the public imagination due to its long history dating back to 1871.

Its founder was the British colonialist Cecil Rhodes, whose army dispossessed Africans of their land and deprived them of basic rights.

In the process, he became a millionaire and his legacy in southern Africa became a lightning rod for discussion about the “colonial” institutions that carry on his name.

This includes those who have statues of him and those who have scholarships based on his great wealth – such as the University of Oxford in England. The past scholars of Rhodes, External They include former US President Bill Clinton and former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.