Botswana, De Beers approve $1 bn deal in world's top diamond mine

Botswana, De Beers approve $1 bn deal in world's top diamond mine

The Debswana Diamond Company's board said it has given the go ahead to works that are to extend the life of the Jwaneng mine
The Debswana Diamond Company's board said it has given the go ahead to works that are to extend the life of the Jwaneng mine. Photo: Monirul BHUIYAN / AFP/File
Source: AFP

Botswana and global diamond giant De Beers have approved a $1 billion investment to dig under the world's richest diamond mine by volume, their joint venture said on Wednesday.

The Debswana Diamond Company's board said it has given the go ahead to works that are to extend the life of the Jwaneng mine turning it from an open-pit site to an underground operation.

The mine accounts for about 70 percent of profits for Debswana -- a 50-50 joint venture between the government and De Beers, which auctions most of the gemstones.

The move, which comes amid a global drop in demand for the precious gems, will extend its life span by 20 years and yield up to nine million carats per year, the firm said last year.

"Investing in underground operations is... fundamentally important to the future of Botswana as a nation, to the long-term ambitions of the De Beers Group, and to the supply outlook for the global diamond industry," said De Beers CEO Al Cook.

Read also

EU examines Microsoft investment in OpenAI

Botswana is Africa's leading diamond producer and diamond mining accounts for a third of its GDP.

PAY ATTENTION: Let yourself be inspired by real people who go beyond the ordinary! Subscribe and watch our new shows on Briefly TV Life now!

Last year the government and mining giant Anglo American, the majority owner of De Beers, reached a deal which provides for a new 10-year agreement to sell the rough diamonds produced by Debswana and a 25-year extension of its mining licenses.

Diamond miners across the region have often had to dig deeper, shouldering higher costs, in recent years as gems closer to the surface deplete.

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.