1 July 2023
Under the new deal announced on Friday, Botswana gets a bigger share of rough stones from their joint venture, Debswana.
Botswana and mining company
De Beers have announced a new diamond sales deal.
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The new deal, concluded on Friday, gives
Botswana a bigger share of rough stones from their joint venture.
Debswana, a joint venture between Anglo American unit
De Beers and
Botswana's government, sells
75% of its output to
De Beers, with the balance taken up by state-owned
Okavango Diamond Co.
The new agreement covers a
10-year sales deal for
Debswana rough diamond production through to
2033 and
25-year
Debswana mining licences.
In the run-up to Friday's deal,
Botswana President
Mokgweetsi Masisi, who is expected to seek re-election next year, had pushed
De Beers for a bigger share of
Debswana's output.
In March,
Botswana announced it would take a
24% stake in Belgian gem processing firm
HB Antwerp in a move seen as designed to loosen
De Beers' grip on the country's gems.
Botswana supplies
70% of
De Beers' rough diamonds