Small-scale diamond miners across several producing countries are abandoning diamond pits for gold pans, and nowhere is the shift more visible than in Guyana, where alluvial operators are converting equipment once used to dig for rough stones into gold-recovery rigs.

The move is a practical one. Alluvial mining setups — sluices, dredges, and washing plants — require little modification to switch from separating diamonds to separating gold, and in Guyana the geography makes the transition even easier: diamond mines sit directly alongside gold concessions, so miners can relocate their operations without leaving the district.

A 70–80% Drop in Six Months

Guyana has never experienced such a decrease in diamond exports. Year-on-year, in the first six months of 2026, the drop in available rough diamonds is 70% to 80%. That is not a gradual softening of supply — it is a near-collapse in the volume of rough reaching the market, driven by miners simply choosing to dig for a different commodity next door.

What Guyanese Rough Looks Like

Guyana’s run-of-mine production is typically sorted through -6 and -11 sieves, split between makeables and sawables. The profile skews small: most goods are 1 carat and under, and roughly 85% of the parcel value sits in half-carat-and-smaller sizes. Large stones are genuinely rare — in a 1,000-carat parcel, no more than six to ten stones will weigh over 2 carats each.

Color is a signature feature of the origin. Guyanese rough often carries a greenish surface tone caused by external spotting, but once cut and polished, most of it comes out H color or whiter. Some material stays light brown, though the parcel mix is offset by the occasional fancy green — among the most sought-after and hardest-to-find colors in the trade.

The Economics Behind the Exodus

For miners weighing which commodity to chase, Grouper reduces the decision to a single comparison.

With gold appreciating and small rough diamonds losing more than half their value over the same stretch, and with the equipment and concessions already in place to make the switch, the economic logic for alluvial operators points firmly away from diamonds. The result is a supply squeeze that is now showing up directly in Guyana’s export figures — and, if the pattern holds across other small-producer nations, one that could tighten availability of small, fine-color rough well beyond Guyana’s borders.