De Beers Consolidated Mines

De Beers Consolidated Mines
World's largest producer and distributor of diamonds.

Diamonds were first discovered in southern Africa in the mid 1860s on the de Beer farm. The urban centre that resulted is now known as Kimberley. Two diamond mines dug there (no longer in operation) were at one time the world's most productive. Cecil Rhodes bought a claim to the De Beers mine in 1871, and eventually bought claims to most of southern Africa's diamond mines. To keep prices high and demand steady, he formed the London Diamond Syndicate in the 1890s as a means of limiting the supply of diamonds reaching the market. Renamed the Central Selling Organization (CSO), it came to control nearly 80% of the world diamond trade by the late 1980s. Dwindling demand caused the CSO to be replaced by the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) in 2000. It was among the first companies in South Africa to sponsor drug treatments for its workers infected with HIV. De Beers also has interests in synthetic diamonds, minerals and ores, and in mining production and processing equipment. Through its large market share and its willingness to work with competitors, De Beers has continued to influence the price and availability of diamonds worldwide, prompting accusations that it has engaged in unfair trading practices. A controlling interest in the company is held by Anglo American PLC.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. — De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd.   [də bɪəz kən sɔlɪdeɪtɪd maɪnz lɪmɪtɪd], größter Diamantenproduzent und händler der Erde, gegründet 1880 von C. Rhodes, Sitz: Kimberley (Republik Südafrika); über Beteiligungsgesellschaften auch in den Bereichen… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • De Beers Consolidated Mines — El mayor productor y distribuidor de diamantes del mundo. Los diamantes se descubrieron por primera vez en África meridional a mediados de la década de 1860 en la granja Beer, en la que se desarrolló el centro urbano que hoy se conoce como… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • De Beers Consolidated Diamond Mines — De Beers Unternehmensform Familienbesitz Gründung 1888 Unternehmenssitz …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • De Beers — Type Private Industry Exploration, mining and trading of diamonds Founded 1888 Founder(s) …   Wikipedia

  • De Beers — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Beer. De Beers Fondateurs Cecil Rhodes (1853 1902) Barney Barnato (1851–1897) Personnages clés Nicky Oppenheimer …   Wikipédia en Français

  • De Beers — Rechtsform Familienbesitz Gründung 1888 Sitz Luxemburg …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • De Beers S.A. — ▪ South African company       world s largest producer and distributor of diamonds. Headquarters are in Johannesburg, S.Af.       Diamonds were first discovered in southern Africa in the mid 1860s on the farm of Nicolaas and Diederick de Beer,… …   Universalium

  • De Beers — El grupo De Beers es una compañía comercial con sede en Johannesburgo dedicada principalmente a la explotación, talla y el comercio de diamantes. Fue fundada en 1888 por Cecil Rhodes con el nombre De Beers Consolidated Mines, y en agosto de 2004… …   Wikipedia Español

  • De Beers —    In 1888, Cecil Rhodes incorporated his company, De Beers Consolidated Mines, which became the largest, most successful diamond company in the world. De Beers s memorable ad campaign, A Diamond Is Forever, secured its place as one of the top… …   Historical Dictionary of the Fashion Industry

  • Business and Industry Review — ▪ 1999 Introduction Overview        Annual Average Rates of Growth of Manufacturing Output, 1980 97, Table Pattern of Output, 1994 97, Table Index Numbers of Production, Employment, and Productivity in Manufacturing Industries, Table (For Annual… …   Universalium

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