Archive

  • On November 1st, the people of Botswana chose a new President for their country, President Duma Boko. Duma Boko is a part of the opposition coalition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) and studied Law at Harvard University.

    This election marks the end of a 58-year rule of the Botswana Democratic Party, the party of his predecessor Masisi.

  • Reuters reports that the 50/50 Government of Botswana and De Beers owned mining entity Debswana has seen sales nearly halved in the first half of this year, selling US$1.29bn compared to US$2.54bn last year. Currently, the company sells 75% of its production via De Beers, the remainder is allocated to Okavango Diamond Company (ODC). Under the new contract, ODC's share is set to be increased to 50% of Debswana's production by the end of the 10-year agreement.

  • Debswana and Chinese tech giant Huawei at the Mobile World Congress Trade Show this week announced plans for the unveiling of "the world's first 5G-oriented smart diamond mine project".
    The 5G network allows cutting-edge technologies like autonomous driving and enables more intelligent digital transformation of the mining industry in the years to come.

  • Rough diamond sales by Debswana Diamond Company reached record levels in 2022 jumping up by 22% from the previous year. The jump in sales has resulted from the West’s shunning of Russian stones whereby Botswana profited from steady global demand for diamond jewellery.

  • Africa Intelligence reports that Botswana’s President Masisi, speaking at a gala dinner hosted by Lucara Diamonds, is adding pressure to the negotiations with De Beers on a renewed Debswana contract, the 50/50 joint venture between the government and De Beers. In the current agreement, 75 % of Debswana’s rough is sold via De Beers, 25% is sold via the state-owned Okavango Diamond Company, the latter achieving record sales revenue via its sales in Antwerp last year.