Anglo American slashes worth of De Beers diamond enterprise for a 3rd time

Anglo American has slashed the value of its diamond division for the third time in three years amid languishing prices.

The miner said it had booked a $2.3billion impairment charge for De Beers, as it looks to sell its 85 per cent stake in the business.

Anglo American reported net losses of $3.7billion, largely due to the diamond division, an increase from losses of $3billion last year.

Anglo has shifted its focus to copper and iron ore production, amid a restructure and simplification of the business following a hostile takeover by BHP.

The sale of its nickel unit is awaiting regulatory approval, while its Australian coal business is looking for a new buyer after a planned sale fell through.

De Beers has been rocked by languishing demand with prices plummeting

Earnings from continuing operations edged up with Ebitda rising 2 per cent, powered by 49 per cent copper margins and 43 per cent from iron ore.

Diamond production fell 12 per cent to 21.7million carats and Anglo cut its forecast to between 21 and 26 million carats, from 26-29million previously.

It said there were ‘ongoing challenging’ trading conditions as losses widened to $511million.

While gold and silver prices have rallied to record highs, diamond prices have suffered a prolonged slump, reaching their lowest point in decades last year.

There has been lacklustre consumer demand and the growth in cheaper lab-grown diamonds has also contributed to the decline.

Anglo said polished wholesale diamond prices had shown signs of stabilisation in early 2025 ‘but sentiment weakened sharply following the introduction of US tariffs on Indian exports’.

That has not stopped investors piling into Anglo American, though. Shares in the miner are up 19 per cent year-to-date, rising over 1 per cent this morning as it announced a $0.23 per share dividend. 

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: ‘Anglo’s shareholders will be asking again this morning how long it will be until the group can rid itself of its turbulent diamond division.

‘The saga seems to go on and on, and while a consortium of bidders is on the horizon, shareholders will be forgiven for asking why the process is so drawn out.

‘At least they have the mining shares boom to keep them content for now; after a difficult three years 2025 was the moment that the share price finally found its footing. 

‘But more progress on disposals is needed, otherwise Anglo will find itself left behind by others in the sector that do not have its troublesome coal and diamond divisions.’