On August 2, 2005, South Africa's De Beers Company announced the closure of the Kimberly diamond mine operated in 134.
South African diamond giant De Beers 1 issued a formal notice to its employees that it would close the Kimberly diamond mine that has been in operation for 134 years and stop its underground diamond mining business.
De Beers said in a statement that the company is considering layoffs and will negotiate with employees and employee representative groups.
The statement also said that the underground mining business of Kimberley diamond mine has been losing money since 2003, but some tailings processing plants will continue to operate, producing about 2 million carats of diamonds every year.
De Beers was founded in 1888, and more than 40% of the diamonds in the world are produced by its diamond mines in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Tanzania.