“De Beers is halting production at South Africa’s biggest diamond mine, as consistently depressed conditions in the market for the precious stones weigh on the company that mining major Anglo American is trying to sell.

The diamond group said on Monday that it would pause production for two years at its Venetia mine, which employs about 3,500 people and accounts for about 10 per cent of the company’s production, to cut costs. It will also reduce capital expenditure for the site.

The mine accounts for 40 per cent of South Africa’s annual diamond production…

Diamond prices have fallen because of slowing demand, especially in China, and competition from lab-grown gems that can be made and sold much more cheaply than natural stones.

WWW International Diamond Consultants’ rough diamond price index is down about 50 per cent from the record highs of 2022.”

From Financial Times.

“Global nuclear capacity is set to climb 44% over the next decade after years of tepid growth, spurred by growing demand for electricity and aggressive efforts to build reactors in China and India.

The world may have as much as 535 gigawatts of installed nuclear power by 2036, up from 372 last year, according to a report Wednesday from BloombergNEF. China had 59 gigawatts of reactors under construction at the end of 2025 and is on track to reach a total of 102 by the end of the decade, a figure that would propel it past the US to become the world’s biggest nuclear nation.”

From Bloomberg.

“Last year the Trump administration set a goal to see three new microreactors achieve criticality, a technical milestone establishing that a reactor can sustain a chain reaction, by the nation’s 250th birthday. And just in time, four reactors did so.

It was a lofty goal, and seeing not just three but four companies meet it is certainly a positive sign for emerging nuclear technologies at a time when the world is facing increased need to increase electricity supply…

The speed with which these companies hit this milestone is impressive, especially in an industry known for massive projects that frequently blow past deadlines and stated budgets. (Valar, Antares, and Aalo were all founded in 2023, and Deployable started in 2025.) But reaching criticality and running a reactor that can produce electricity are two totally different things…

Now, with the completion of this program, the companies will need to continue their work to make power, which could involve some big technical challenges.”

From MIT Technology Review.

“A nuclear power plant on the East Coast [of England] will produce electricity for a further 20 years after a deal was reached between its owner EDF and the government.

Sizewell B, near Leiston, Suffolk, started operating in 1995 and was due to reach the end of its life in 2035, but will now continue operating until 2055.”

From BBC.