Amidst a drop in average pricing in 2025, ANGLO American announced on Thursday that it was contemplating a third impairment of its diamond business, De Beers, in the past three years.
The century-old miner has a lot going on right now. Along with completing the sale of non-core businesses, like as De Beers, it is also combining with Teck Resources of Canada, a deal that was approved by the government and shareholders late last year. Anglo-Teck will be the name of the combined company.
After writing down De Beers for $1.6 billion in 2024, Anglo recorded an impairment charge of $2.9 billion on the company in February of last year. Anglo, the company that controls 85% of De Beers, stated that its preparations to sell the company were “progressing” but provided very little information.
Diamond trading circumstances “continued to be challenging in the quarter amid persistent industry, geopolitical, and tariff uncertainty,” according to Anglo’s fourth quarter production update.
Due to a 12% drop in the average rough price index, De Beers’ average realized diamond price fell 7% to $142 per carat in 2025.
However, Anglo’s under-cost sales of inventory also put pressure on the market. According to Anglo, the corresponding price index reduction would have been 25% annually because these commodities were primarily of lower value.
The assumption is that the market showed some resilience.
Additionally, De Beers sold 5.9 million carats of diamonds in the fourth quarter, which increased sales income to $571 million from 4.6 million carats sold during the same period in 2024.
Nevertheless, Anglo stated that a write-down was being contemplated. It stated that the group is reviewing De Beers’ carrying value for impairment and evaluating the effects of the diamond market, which may result in an impairment at the end of the year.
The diamond market’s persistent underperformance coincides with Anglo’s efforts to find a buyer for its 85% ownership in De Beers. Anglo American CEO Duncan Wanblad claimed that his business was only “progressing” the transaction.
A consortium headed by former MD of the diamond company Gareth Penny is a frontrunner for De Beers, but Botswana, which owns 15% of the company, stated that it also wants to take over. Namibia has also indicated that it would like to acquire stock.
Wanblad’s 2024 dramatic restructuring includes the proposed sale of De Beers. Its platinum division, Amplats, was demerged in June 2025, but the sale of its Australian metallurgical coal mines encountered a roadblock when buyer Peabody Energy pulled out of the agreement due to a fire at the Moranbah North mine.
Wanblad stated today that the formal selling procedure for coal used in steelmaking was “progressing well,” but he did not provide Peabody Energy with any further information about potential bidders or Anglo’s intentions to seek compensation from the US company.
Copper
The rise in copper production and more flexibility over expansion are important components of Anglo-Teck. Anglo reduced its copper projection for the current fiscal year from 760–820,000 tons to 700,000–760,000 tons in its fourth quarter report.
Additionally, the group set fresh guidance for 2028 of 790-850t while reducing the 2027 projection to 750-810,000t. 2025 production was 695,000 t, which was nearly the same as the previous year and just met the 690–750,000 t forecast.
In keeping with Visible Alpha consensus, Goldman Sachs reported that copper production had failed by 5%, with Quellaveco (Anglo’s Peru operation) falling short by 10% on lower than expected grades.
The banks stated that “Los Bronces (Chile) delivered a strong finish to the year, while the Collahuasi (Chile mine) shortfall was already known.” “The underlying copper miss narrows to about 2% after correcting for the Collahuasi miss, which we believe more accurately reflects what the market had already priced in,” the report stated.
source: miningmx
