De Beers has canceled Sight 7, scheduled for later this month, as the slump in global diamond demand persists.
It’s the first time the troubled UK miner has taken such a decision since Sights 3, 4 and 5 of 2020, which were all canceled in the depths of the Covid crisis.
De Beers last reported sales, for Sight 5 of this year, were just $315m, but figures for Sight 6, in July, have not been disclosed.
The company has now ditched Sight by Sight reports in favor of quarterly updates. But there was speculation beforehand that Sight 6 sales could dip below $200m.
De Beers has also rescheduled its remaining Sights for the rest of this year.
Sight 8 is now 23-27 September (originally 7 October – 11 October); Sight 9 is now 4-8 November (originally 11 November – 15 November) and Sight 10 is now 2-6 December (originally 9 December – 13 December).
In a statement, De Beers said: “We are rescheduling Sight dates for the remainder of the year to support Sightholder businesses in navigating industry trading conditions, as well as to avoid timing issues with a UN Conference set to take place in Botswana in mid-December.
“Following engagement with Sightholders, we believe this revised scheduling will better support their evolving business needs as we head towards the end of year season.”
Earlier this week another diamond miner, Petra, canceled its August/September tender “to support steps taken by major producers to restrict supply in this weaker demand period”. Sales have been sliding at recent tenders.
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