De Beers S.A.

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 minority interest in the company is held by the country of Botswana.

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