Botswana Slams "False" Claim it could Ditch De Beers
November 02, 22
(IDEX Online) - Botswana's president has slammed a newspaper suggestion that the country would no longer be selling its larger diamonds to De Beers.
Mokgweetsi Masisi told delegates at the Natural Diamond Summit, in the capital Gaborone, that the report was "false" and "ludicrous".
The Sunday Standard newspaper ran a story headlined "Masisi to ditch De Beers for Lucara and HB Antwerp?".
It reported the Okavango Diamond Company (ODC), wholly owned by the Botswana government, was planning to sell its specials (+10.8-carats) to Canada-based Lucara and Belgian manufacturer HB Antwerp instead.
The government has a long-standing arrangement to sell through Debswana, the 50-50 partnership it has with De Beers, that controls all the country's diamond mining, at the Damtshaa, Jwaneng, Letlhakane and Orapa mines.
The newspaper claimed a switch from De Beers could increase Botswana's diamond revenue by 45 per cent.
In June both sides said they'd be extending their sale agreement for a year, rather than negotiating a new contract as had originally been planned.
President Masisi said Botswana would "support investment in Debswana" but didn't specifically rule out any sales to other companies.
He tweeted: "As a country, we will continue to support investment in Debswana, to ensure that mining continues to take place and that there is reliable supply of diamonds to the market.
"But more importantly, we want to continue working collectively with the industry, to respond to the needs of the consumer who purchases our products."