Video version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7tGZzwe4mQ
For over a hundred years, DeBeers has dominated and controlled the global diamond trade.
But today, Chinese factories are mass-producing lab-grown diamonds, which are chemically identical to natural stones, and prices are collapsing worldwide for both man-made and natural diamonds.
DeBeers sources most of their rough diamonds from mines in Botswana, and the new government there is determined to move DeBeers’ value chains to Botswana itself, thereby retaining billions of dollars in industry revenues in-country.
Anglo-American is DeBeers’ parent company, and they are trying to divest their holdings. But even after writing off $4.5 billion in book value in two years, no buyers can be found.
Can’t wait for the upcoming NYT op-eds: “China is killing the diamond mining monopolies: but at what cost???”
Just a quick search gave me some fun ones
BONUS
Last one sounds like way too extreme satire but knowing those ghouls priorities it’s probably real.
can someone pleaseee think of the oligarchy PLEAAAASE.
DEMOCRACY (copyrighted/trademarked) IS AT STAKE!!
It’s just not the same if a child slave didn’t suffer for it. Or something.
Given all the horrific history of conflict diamonds, etc, why would anyone not want a lab made stone at this point?
I’m prepared for many headlines about how these diamond mines are actually providing good, if meager, livings for people who would otherwise be jobless in Botswana.
It’ll be crickets about the massive exploitation, however.