Diamond Exploration Companies: Explorers Compared

Active diamond exploration companies are fewer than they were. Rio Tinto reported in March 2026 that Diavik, its last diamond mine, had delivered its final production (Miningmx, citing Bloomberg), Canada’s Ekati mine went into receivership in July (National Jeweler), and Anglo American is still selling De Beers. The firms that keep drilling are the majors with a large ground position, producers that test the ground around their own mines, and a short list of juniors, several of which now put their money into copper or gold.

The market explains the retreat. The Kimberley Process counted 107.9 million carats of rough diamonds mined worldwide in 2024, worth US$9.53 billion (Kimberley Process, 2024 annual global summary). Against 2019 that is 22 percent fewer carats and 30 percent less value. This page compares ten named companies by project, stage and latest dated news, shows where kimberlites are found, walks through the stages of a project, and gives you a way to test a company’s numbers. It is a fact guide, not investment advice.

Ten diamond explorers and producers compared

The table mixes three kinds of company on purpose. A reader who wants to know who is looking for the next pipe needs to see who is paying for that search, and in 2026 that is rarely a pure exploration company. Every row shows the latest dated fact from a filing, a company page or a trade report.

Majors: De Beers and ALROSA

De Beers announced a new kimberlite field in Angola in August 2025. It returned to Angola in 2022. By late 2024 airborne surveys had singled out eight high-potential targets, and in July 2025 the first drill hole into a priority cluster hit kimberlite. The joint venture with Endiama called it the first new kimberlite field found by De Beers in more than three decades, and said the type of kimberlite and its diamond content still had to be tested with more drilling, ground geophysics and laboratory work (Diamond World, 14 August 2025). A kimberlite is not a mine. The next sections show how rarely one becomes the other.

Ownership of De Beers is about to change. Anglo American’s chief executive said on 30 July 2026 that the sale was in its final phase, which he called the most challenging, that Anglo was not exclusive with any bidder, that the sale would be private rather than a listing, and that regulatory approval would take about a year after signing. De Beers reported first-half revenue of US$1.6 billion, down 19 percent, and said demand for larger, higher-quality stones held up while smaller and lower-quality stones faced pressure from lab-grown diamonds (National Jeweler). Anglo has cut the book value of the business to US$2.3 billion from US$9.1 billion (Miningmx). A buyer will set the exploration budget, so any plan that depends on De Beers drilling should wait for the new owner’s statement.

Russia, where ALROSA is the main operator, mined 37.3 million carats in 2024, worth US$3.34 billion, at an average of US$89 per carat (Kimberley Process). ALROSA publishes its resource and reserve tables on its own site on a JORC basis, without a stated date, so check the current version before you quote them. ALROSA has been designated by the U.S. Treasury under Executive Order 14024 (7 April 2022), and Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the Bahamas also sanctioned it (U.S. Treasury); anyone buying from or dealing with it should take legal advice.

Producers that explore around their own mines

The producers still spending on geology do it where a plant and infrastructure already exist. Lucara’s underground project at Karowe is the largest capital item in this list. The January 2026 feasibility update puts after-tax net present value at US$432 million and says US$436 million of the US$779 million capital had already been spent (Mining.com). That is a mine-life extension, not a discovery, and it shows what the economics of a deep kimberlite look like when the pit runs out.

Gahcho Kué shows the other side, and it has since changed hands on paper: on 1 October 2026 Mountain Province agreed to transfer its 49% to De Beers (Brief Glance). Mountain Province’s share of production rose, but the average price fell to US$34 per carat, the joint venture paused waste stripping at the Tuzo pit, and the company described a “highly constrained and challenging financial environment” in its May 2026 release (Mountain Province). With Ekati closing, National Jeweler says Canada is left with one diamond mine. Angola is the opposite case: the national regulator is targeting more volume and counting on outside explorers, and the Catoca and Luele kimberlites supply about 90 percent of national output (Miningmx).

Juniors and companies that changed direction

Star Diamond’s Star-Orion South in Saskatchewan is the undeveloped Canadian project in this list. Its latest filing says the Star-Orion South site is on care and maintenance, the pre-feasibility study depends on raising money, and the company needs more financing to continue as a going concern (Star Diamond). The geology is not the issue; funding is.

North Arrow and Botswana Minerals show the usual junior response. Botswana Minerals keeps its diamond licences and North Arrow has held diamond projects; both now lead with another metal. For a licence owner it is worth asking what data such a company already holds: Botswana Minerals describes more than 375,000 line kilometres of airborne geophysics, ground surveys, soil sampling and drill records over about 95,000 km² (interim statement, 16 March 2026).

For a wider look at Canadian operators, see the guide to Canadian diamond mining companies, and for the contractors that drill the holes, the guide to diamond drilling companies in Canada. Neither is the same as the explorers above: a drilling contractor is paid by the metre, an explorer is paid only if the pipe is worth mining.

What the Kimberley Process data shows about the market

The Kimberley Process publishes production by country each year, with volume in carats and value in US dollars. It is the most complete public record of how much rough the world mines and what it is worth. The 2024 summary lists 107.9 million carats at an average of US$88.35 per carat. Reading the annual summaries for 2019 to 2024 side by side shows the squeeze: output fell in 2020, recovered to 2022, then dropped again, while value fell faster than volume in 2023 and 2024.

Chart

World rough diamond production value

US$ billion, all producing countries, by year

The 2022 peak of US$15.96 billion came when the carat price averaged US$132.30. By 2024 the average was US$88.35 (Kimberley Process, 2022). That fall in price per carat, more than any lack of geology, is why exploration budgets were cut. A kimberlite that looked viable at US$130 per carat can fail at US$90. Bloomberg, cited by Miningmx, also points to lab-grown stones, which were in nearly half of US engagement rings in the first eight months of 2025, and to natural prices more than 40 percent below their pandemic peak (Miningmx).

Two cautions on the data. Kimberley Process values are declared at the point of production and are averages across all qualities, so a mine of large gem stones can sit far above the national figure. And the annual summaries are revised, so quote the edition you used. The USGS notes that natural diamond deposits have been found in more than 35 countries and that synthetic diamond supplies nearly all industrial use (USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026), which is why the gem market, not the industrial one, funds exploration.

Where explorers look for kimberlites

Diamonds form deep in the mantle under old, thick, cool continental roots called cratons. Only those roots are cold enough, at high enough pressure, to keep diamonds stable, so explorers start with the map of ancient crust. The Gemological Institute of America’s review of diamond geology calls this Clifford’s Rule: rich deposits sit on cratons, with exceptions where diamonds occur in lamproite off the craton (GIA, Gems & Gemology).

Chart

Rough production by country, 2019 and 2024

Million carats, selected producing countries

The same review gives the odds, and they are sobering. In two well-explored cratons, systematic work reported in the 2013 GIA review found more than 80 kimberlite pipes in the Kimberley craton and more than 300 in the Slave craton. Only 10 percent and 50 percent of them held diamonds, and none in the Kimberley craton and fewer than 1 percent in the Slave craton were rich enough to mine. The authors add that, apart from the Canadian finds of the 1980s and 1990s, none of the producing countries has seen a major diamond-bearing pipe discovered in recent decades (GIA). That is the context for the De Beers announcement in Angola.

The table is a map of where the money has been made, not a list of where the next discovery will be. For a fuller look at the geology of one famous pipe see the Cullinan mine guide, and for how kimberlite fits among other deposit styles see types of ore deposits.

How a diamond project moves from first sample to mine

Explorers work in stages and stop as soon as one stage fails. Each stage costs more than the last, so the order matters more than the method.

Infographic

Diamond project in 6 stages

1. 1Regional dataDesk study of geology, craton maps and magnetic data.
2. 2Indicator mineralsSample till or stream sediment; measure grain chemistry.
3. 3GeophysicsTurn the grain trail into drill targets.
4. 4Drill testFind kimberlite and test it for diamonds.
5. 5Bulk sampleProcess large samples to get carats and stone values.
6. 6Resource and financeResource estimate, studies, then funding.

Regional data and indicator minerals

The first step is a desk study of geology and any magnetic data, followed by sampling of till or stream sediment for kimberlite indicator minerals such as garnet, Mg-ilmenite, chromite and Cr-diopside. A grain is only called a kimberlite indicator after its chemistry is measured; looks alone are not enough. A Manitoba Geological Survey study shows the method in a glaciated region: it sampled till along rivers, used ice-flow direction to work out where the grains came from, and built on an earlier aeromagnetic survey (Manitoba Geological Survey, GS2021-9). In glaciated ground the grains travel far from the source, which is why GIA stresses perseverance and scientific method. The guide to indicator grains and kimberlite pipes covers this stage in detail.

Geophysics, drilling and the first diamonds

Airborne magnetic and electromagnetic surveys turn a grain trail into drill targets, as in Angola, where airborne survey data gave De Beers and Endiama the target cluster they drilled in July 2025. A hole that meets kimberlite is then tested for diamonds, first with small samples and later with large ones. Finding kimberlite is the easy part of the sentence and the hard part of the job: the GIA figures above say fewer than 1 percent of the Slave craton pipes were mineable.

Bulk sample, resource and finance

A bulk sample, processed through a pilot plant, gives the carats and the stone values that matter. A resource estimate, pre-feasibility and feasibility study follow, then financing. Star Diamond shows how long the last step can take: its pre-feasibility study was engaged in September 2025, carries a C$3.0 million budget and is still waiting on financing in August 2026 (Star Diamond).

▶ Shows how satellite targets are ranked into a drill order. · 2:19

How to compare diamond exploration companies

Use the same six questions for every name on your list. They are questions about the project, not a view on any share price.

Chart

Average rough value per carat, 2024

US$ per carat, for selected producing countries

1. Which stage is the project at?

A company with indicator minerals and one drill hole is at a different risk level from one with a bulk sample. The GIA odds apply most to the first group. Label each project: target, kimberlite found, diamondiferous, bulk-sampled, resource, feasibility.

2. What is a carat worth?

Grade in carats per hundred tonnes means little without value per carat. The 2024 Kimberley Process averages range from US$10.84 per carat in Congo (Kinshasa) to US$416.88 in Namibia. A rich, low-value pipe can earn less per tonne than a poor, high-value one. Ask for a parcel valuation from a named valuer, with the date and the size of the parcel.

3. How much cash is left?

Read the latest quarterly report. Star Diamond’s second-quarter 2026 release shows cash of C$58 thousand, against C$724 thousand at the end of 2025, and states that it needs more financing to continue. Mountain Province’s May 2026 release described talks with lenders, its joint venture partner and governments; on 1 October 2026 it agreed to hand its 49% of Gahcho Kué to De Beers for debt forgiveness, with a six-month grace period from noteholders and Dunebridge (Brief Glance). A cash line and a going-concern note tell you more than a news headline.

4. Who is the partner or buyer?

Ekati found no viable bidders over an eight-week sales process in 2026. Majors and state companies, such as Endiama in Angola, are the likeliest partners. Check whether the partner has a right to buy production, a share of future upside, or a first claim on the asset.

5. Is the resource classified and how old is the report?

A JORC or NI 43-101 table with a stated date is a statement of confidence; an exploration target is not a resource. See the video below for the difference. Star Diamond’s resource is stated in a technical report dated 24 July 2024, so any price assumption in it is more than two years old.

6. Has the company changed direction?

North Arrow and Botswana Minerals show the pattern: if most of a company’s news is about copper or gold, assume the diamond ground gets less money and less attention.

▶ Explains what an exploration target is and what it takes to become a classified resource. · 4:14

Grade and value calculator for a diamond project

Use the calculator below to sort the numbers in any announcement. Enter your own ore tonnage, grade in carats per hundred tonnes, a value per carat and a cost per tonne. It returns carats per year, revenue, operating margin and the break-even price. The break-even price per carat is the number to hold against the price averages in the chart above: if it sits above the national average for the country, the project needs large, high-value stones to work.

What satellite screening can and cannot do for a diamond licence

A satellite cannot see a diamond, and it cannot see a kimberlite buried under sand, lake sediment or till. The GIA review makes the same point about the difficulty of finding a pipe buried below surface deposits and vegetation. What imagery can do is narrow the area: it maps surface geology, drainage, lineaments and vegetation or soil patterns that sometimes sit over a pipe or its dispersal train, and it lets a licence owner rank ground before paying for sampling.

That is the one role for a service such as Farmonaut: a satellite screen of a licence that produces exploration targets for a consultant to check with indicator sampling and geophysics. The output is a target list, not a resource, and not a promise of diamonds. If you hold or are buying diamond ground, the sensible order is: screen the licence, confirm the targets on the ground, then spend on drilling.

▶ Covers the limits of satellite exploration that matter in due diligence. · 2:08

Frequently asked questions

What do diamond exploration companies do?

They look for kimberlite or lamproite pipes, and for alluvial gravels, that contain diamonds in sufficient grade and value to mine. Work runs from regional sampling and geophysics through drilling and bulk sampling to a resource estimate.

Which diamond exploration companies are active now?

The majors covered here are De Beers, which is exploring with Endiama in Angola, and ALROSA, which lists 12 primary pipes in development in Russia. Juniors and producers include Lucara, Mountain Province, Star Diamond, North Arrow and Botswana Minerals, though several now lead with other metals. See the comparison table above for dated facts on each.

Is Rio Tinto still exploring for diamonds?

Rio Tinto reported in March 2026 that Diavik had delivered its final production and, according to Bloomberg via Miningmx, has left the diamond business after more than 50 years. It will keep processing and selling remaining stones.

How many kimberlites turn into mines?

Very few. In the Slave craton of Canada more than 300 kimberlites were found and about half carried diamonds, but fewer than 1 percent were rich enough to mine (GIA, Gems & Gemology).

How do explorers find kimberlites?

They follow indicator minerals such as garnet and chromite in till or stream sediment, check their chemistry, then use airborne magnetic and electromagnetic surveys to pick drill targets. Ice flow direction decides where the grain trail leads in glaciated country.

Why are diamond explorers moving into copper and gold?

Natural diamond prices are more than 40 percent below their pandemic peak and lab-grown stones are taking market share, so investors fund other metals more readily. Botswana Minerals describes the weak diamond market as the reason for its pivot, and North Arrow’s 2026 drilling is for gold.

Who is buying De Beers?

No buyer had been confirmed by 30 July 2026, the latest Anglo American update used here. In mid-July a Botswana minister said Anglo had picked the Global Diamond Consortium, chaired by Gareth Penny, as preferred bidder; Anglo did not confirm it, and on 30 July its chief executive said the sale would be private and was not exclusive to one bidder (National Jeweler, 21 and 30 July 2026). Another consortium led by Nir Livnat of Diacore was still in the running. Check Anglo’s latest announcement before relying on this.

What does it cost to explore for diamonds?

Costs depend on terrain, depth of cover and stage, so no single figure applies. As a late-stage example, Star Diamond budgeted C$3.0 million for a pre-feasibility study on Star-Orion South. Early indicator sampling costs far less than drilling and bulk sampling.

Can satellites find diamonds?

No. Satellites can map surface geology and patterns that help rank ground, but only sampling and drilling can show whether a pipe carries diamonds.

Which countries produce the most diamonds by value?

Russia led in 2024 at US$3.34 billion, followed by Angola, Botswana and Canada, each between US$1.0 billion and US$1.5 billion (Kimberley Process, 2024).

Can I buy shares in diamond exploration companies?

Several are listed, including Lucara (TSX: LUC), Star Diamond (TSX: DIAM) and Burgundy (ASX: BDM). This page gives facts, not buy or sell advice, and none of the figures above are forecasts.