What Gem Diamonds Limited does

Gem Diamonds Limited is a publicly traded diamond producer listed on the London Stock Exchange (LON:GEMD) with headquarters in London. The company operates the Letšeng diamond mine in Lesotho under a 70% ownership stake, a kimberlite operation renowned for producing large, top colour, exceptional white diamonds. Since acquiring the mine in 2006, Gem Diamonds has produced four of the 20 largest white diamonds ever recorded, and Letšeng is recognized as the highest average dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world. The company's only operating mine today is Letšeng, following the formal exit from the Ghaghoo mine in Botswana in June 2025, when the mining license was surrendered and the site was returned to the Government of Botswana.

Gem Diamonds generates revenue exclusively through the mining and sale of rough diamonds. Distribution is handled through scheduled tender auctions held in Antwerp, Belgium, with tenders planned for June, September, and December 2026, using a proprietary GDMS eTender online platform. Buyers participating in these tenders include diamond manufacturers, traders, and jewelry-industry procurers seeking high-value, large top colour white diamonds. Additional operational offices are located in Antwerp (sales and marketing), Cyprus (innovation solutions), and Mokhotlong at the Letšeng mine site. The company has 51-100 employees.

The company holds FTSE4Good Index Series constituent status, has adopted the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM), and reports against Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations since 2021. It is also a Strategic Partner of the Commonwealth Enterprise & Investment Council. Leadership includes Clifford Elphick as CEO and founder. Gem Diamonds' business model is fundamentally a single-asset commodity operation with premium unit economics, where revenue depends on tender pricing achieved for individual large stones, exposing results to diamond-market cycles and individual buyer decisions.

Name

Gem Diamonds Limited

Legal name

Gem Diamonds Limited

Website

https://gemdiamonds.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Gem Diamonds Limited is a publicly traded diamond miner operating the Letšeng kimberlite mine in Lesotho (70% owned), selling rough diamonds via Antwerp tenders to global diamond buyers, manufacturers, and traders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Diamond Mining

NAICS

Jewelry, Watch, Precious Stone, and Precious Metal Merchant Wholesalers (423940)

SIC

Wholesale-Jewelry, Watches, Precious Stones & Metals (5094)

akta.pro primary industry

Rough Diamond Trading & Brokerage (CRAKAJAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Diamond/Gemstone Auction Houses & Tender Platforms (CRAKAJAI)

Keywords

• Rough diamond mining
• Kimberlite diamond extraction
• Large white diamond production
• Diamond tender sales
• High-value diamond mining

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Rough Diamond Sales: Gem Diamonds generates revenue through mining and selling rough diamonds from its Letšeng mine in Lesotho. The company sells diamonds via scheduled tenders in Antwerp, Belgium.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Gem Diamonds Limited mines and sells rough diamonds from its 70%-owned Letšeng kimberlite mine in Lesotho, which is recognized as the highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world. The company produces large, top colour, exceptional white diamonds and sells them through scheduled competitive tender auctions held in Antwerp, Belgium via its proprietary GDMS eTender online platform.

Product overview

Gem Diamonds Limited is a focused, single-asset diamond mining company that operates the Letšeng mine in Lesotho, producing high-value rough diamonds. The company operates two core offerings: the Letšeng mine itself (70% owned) which extracts large, top colour white diamonds, and the GDMS eTender platform for selling these diamonds through scheduled auctions in Antwerp and Dubai. The Letšeng mine is the world's highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine and has produced four of the 20 largest white diamonds ever recorded. The company has no further obligations related to the Ghaghoo mine in Botswana following license cancellation in June 2025.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Letšeng Diamond Mine The Letšeng mine in Lesotho is a kimberlite diamond mine in which Gem Diamonds holds a 70% ownership stake. It is renowned for producing large, top colour, exceptional white diamonds and is recognized as the highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world, having produced four of the 20 largest white diamonds ever recorded since 2006.
• GDMS eTender Platform An online tender platform operated by Gem Diamonds that enables qualified clients to participate in scheduled rough diamond tender auctions. Tenders are held multiple times per year in Antwerp, Belgium, with additional sales events referenced in Dubai.
• Rough Diamonds High-value rough diamonds produced at the Letšeng mine in Lesotho, including large, top colour white diamonds. The Letšeng mine has produced four of the 20 largest white diamonds ever recorded. These rough diamonds are sold exclusively through scheduled competitive tender auctions in Antwerp.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Commonwealth Enterprise & Investment CouncilnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerGem Diamonds is a Strategic Partner of the Commonwealth Enterprise & Investment Council, supporting business development and investment facilitation across Commonwealth nations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• DiamondCorp: DiamondCorp is a smaller Africa-focused diamond miner (Lace mine in South Africa), a niche emerging player with partial overlap on kimberlite mining and rough diamond production for global tender buyers.
• Diamcor Mining: Diamcor Mining operates the Krone-Endora alluvial diamond project adjacent to De Beers' Venetia mine in South Africa; an emerging player with comparable rough diamond production and B2B tender sales models.
• Stellar Diamonds (formerly Newfield Resources): Newfield Resources (which acquired Stellar Diamonds' assets) operates the Tongo diamond project in Sierra Leone; an emerging player with comparable kimberlite-rough diamond economics, albeit at a smaller scale.

Broad incumbents

• Alrosa: Alrosa is the world's largest diamond miner by volume, producing across multiple Russian kimberlite and alluvial operations; it is a broad incumbent with overlapping product (rough diamonds via tenders) and competing supply for the global polished-diamond pipeline.
• Anglo American (De Beers): De Beers, part of Anglo American, is the world's largest diamond producer by value and volume, operating multiple kimberlite and alluvial mines across southern Africa and Canada; it is the broad incumbent that sets rough price benchmarks and competes with Letšeng for premium-stone demand.
• Rio Tinto (Diamonds): Rio Tinto operates the Argyle (now closed), Diavik, and previously the Murowa diamond mines, and is a broad incumbent producer with comparable rough diamond supply into the global market.

Direct peers

• Petra Diamonds: Petra Diamonds is a direct peer — an Africa-focused diamond miner (Finsch, Cullinan, Koffiefontein in South Africa; Williamson in Tanzania) producing and selling rough diamonds, with overlapping tender-based B2B distribution and similar exposure to kimberlite economics.
• Lucara Diamond Corp: Lucara operates the Karowe mine in Botswana, a kimberlite mine also renowned for producing very large, high-value exceptional white diamonds (e.g., the Lesedi La Rona, Sewelô). The Karowe–Letšeng comparison is the standard benchmark in high-value rough diamond production.
• Mountain Province Diamonds: Mountain Province Diamonds holds interests in the Gahcho Kué diamond mine in Canada's Northwest Territories, a kimberlite operation producing high-quality rough diamonds; it is a direct peer in kimberlite mining economics and B2B rough diamond sales.

Regional players

• Debswana Diamond Company: Debswana is a De Beers/Botswana government joint venture operating multiple diamond mines in Botswana (Orapa, Jwaneng, Letlhakane); a regional peer supplying large volumes of rough diamonds and now the de facto custodian of the Ghaghoo site Gem Diamonds exited.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gemdiamondsltd
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A3 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gem Diamonds Limited