Rio Tinto Diamond Unit in the Red

Rio Tinto’s diamond business incurred a loss in 2024 as the global market slowdown hit the mining conglomerate. 

Revenue fell 37% to $279 million for the 12 months, leading to an underlying loss of $127 million, the company reported Wednesday. In 2023, the unit turned a profit of $26 million. 

The diamond business, which accounted for less than 1% of Rio Tinto’s group sales, suffered “cost inefficiencies” because of “weaker markets,” the company explained.  

Production fell 17% to 2.8 million carats. This reflected a pause to operations after a plane heading to the company’s Diavik mine in Canada crashed in January 2024, killing four mine team members and two airline crew. The cessation of mining at Diavik’s A21 open pit in the third quarter of 2023 also impacted the year-on-year comparison.