Diamond industry misjudged threat of lab-grown gems, says Anglo American CEO

{"text":[[{"start":8.143,"text":"De Beers and the diamond industry misjudged the threat from lab-grown gems, which have shaken up the market for the natural stones, according to Anglo American boss Duncan Wanblad."}],[{"start":17.564,"text":"The miner is trying to sell the pioneering diamond company while also writing down its value three times in the past three years. Some in the industry see consumers moving to cheaper lab-grown diamonds as a failure of marketing, but retailers have enjoyed growing sales volumes and wider margins from the gems."}],[{"start":34.4,"text":"“Hindsight would probably show that we might have wanted to have been a little bit more aggressive on the signals we were getting” from the competition from lab-grown stones, Wanblad told the FT."}],[{"start":44.032,"text":"“Mostly diamond markets, when they go through dips, recover very rapidly . . .  And I think that there was a full expectation that might be the case here,” he said."}],[{"start":53.44,"text":"“Looking in the rear-view mirror is a much more perfect science than trying to do it in real life,” he added."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":59.2,"text":"The mining group last week reported another slide in rough diamond prices for the first half of the year, with a 32 per cent fall to $105 per carat, lower even than the pandemic-hit first half of 2020."}],[{"start":72.205,"text":"De Beers posted another cash loss for the first half, equal to $113mn, while Anglo’s overall underlying earnings climbed by a third to $4bn because of the higher copper price."}],[{"start":85.143,"text":"The losses at the miner’s diamond division come in the context of fierce competition from and growing consumer interest in lab-grown gems, which are much cheaper to produce and buy."}],[{"start":94.278,"text":"The rapid encroachment of these stones into the market has led to several diamond mine closures and pauses, including De Beers’ announcement last month that it would pause production at its Venetia mine in South Africa."}],[{"start":106.864,"text":"Wanblad said it was “true” that the natural diamond industry had underestimated the impact of lab-grown stones, adding that about a fifth of the current natural diamond supply was “on its way out over the next 12 months or so” and that “not many” operations would come back online. De Beers only shut down its own lab operation, Lightbox, this year."}],[{"start":127.832,"text":"Anglo said on Thursday that the sale of De Beers was “advancing” but that it had not chosen a preferred bidder yet."}],[{"start":135.413,"text":"However, a consortium led by former De Beers chief executive Gareth Penny has for some time been tipped as the leading group, and has been discussing a deal worth about $1bn, according to two people familiar with the matter."}],[{"start":149.36,"text":"Wanblad would not be drawn on the sale price, but said Anglo was “not exclusive with anybody at this point in time”."}],[{"start":154.982,"text":"Nir Livnat, executive chair of the Diacore Group diamond business, and Michael O’Keeffe, non-executive chair of Burgundy Diamond Mines, are leading two other consortiums in the process, according to two people familiar with the matter."}],[{"start":172.08,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1785820757_1963.mp3"}