After 7 years of negotiations, Botswana restructures diamond mining deal with De Beers

[get these nets]

* starts with voiceover details of the deal, president speaks @6:55

Botswana, De Beers sign long-delayed diamonds deal​

02/27/25

• Summary
• Companies
• Final deal has option for 5-year extension
• ODC's share of Debswana output revised down to 40% in 10 years
• 50-50 split would take effect in extension period

GABORONE, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Botswana's government on Tuesday signed a long-delayed 10-year diamonds sales agreement with Anglo American (AAL.L)
, opens new tab unit De Beers adding a possible extension period of five more years to the provisional pact.
Under the final deal, the share of Botswana's state-owned Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) in the production of Debswana - its 50-50 joint venture with De Beers - will reach 40% at the end of the agreement, revised from a provisional 50%.

ODC's allocation could, however, rise to 50% during the proposed five-year extension period, according to a joint statement by Botswana's government and De Beers.
During the first five years, ODC will sell 30% of Debswana's output, up from 25% previously.
The provisional agreement reached with Botswana's previous government had ODC's allocation reaching 50% at the end of the 10-year pact.
Negotiations over the deal started in 2018 and an agreement announced in 2023 was never formally signed.
Botswana's President Duma Boko, who swept to power last October, made signing the deal with De Beers a priority.

The deal is critical for the southern African country since its economy is largely dependent on the export of diamonds.
"We have us a good deal and we trust that it will carry us into the future. To the people of Botswana, this agreement is about you, about the jobs it will create," Boko said at a signing ceremony in the capital Gaborone.
Under the agreement, Debswana's mining licences, which were due to expire in 2029, will be extended until 2054.

Botswana's government says the economy contracted last year because of a prolonged downturn in the global diamond market.
Declining demand and a supply glut, the rising popularity of lab-grown diamonds and a shift by younger consumers away from the precious stone, have all weighed on rough diamond prices.
However, the government hopes the economy will rebound this year because of an improvement in the global diamond market and a better performance of other sectors.

 

[KillerPups]

lab grown is better not putting a dime in debeers pocket

 

[MikelArteta]

lab grown is better not putting a dime in debeers pocket

yup

 

[Kasgoinjail]

*10 years?, woah

 

[get these nets]

Botswana shifts economic strategy amid surging demand for lab-grown diamonds
09/24/25

Botswana is moving to reduce its dependence on diamonds by diversifying within the mining sector, tapping into rare earths and other minerals while ensuring in-country processing to create jobs and add value. Officials say natural diamonds will remain central, marketed for their rarity and provenance to stand apart from synthetics. The country is also working to expand intra-African trade through new trade corridors and digital platforms that make commerce more seamless across borders

 

[get these nets]

Botswana and Angola hold talks as both seek control of De Beers​

November 7, 2025

Diamonds are displayed during a visit to the De Beers Global Sightholder Sales (GSS) in the capital Gaborone in Botswana


GABORONE, Nov 7 (Reuters) - The mining ministers of Botswana and Angola held talks in Botswana's capital on Friday on cooperation in the diamond sector, as the two Southern African countries seek to take control of Anglo American (AAL.L)
, opens new tab diamond unit De Beers.
Botswana, which owns 15% of De Beers and contributes 70% of its annual rough diamond production, considers the company a strategic national asset, despite a slump in global diamond prices that has hurt its economy.


Angola initially sought a minority stake in De Beers but later submitted a bid for a majority stake, setting up a potential bidding war with its neighbour.
Botswana's mines minister Bogolo Joy Kenewendo and Angolan minister Diamantino Pedro Azevedo discussed collaboration in the diamond industry, as well as energy and logistics at a meeting briefly opened to reporters. Before that, they held a closed-door meeting which lasted about 40 minutes.

"At the top of everyone's minds this year is the performance of the diamond industry and our collaborative efforts in bringing back the spark and the shine to the industry," Kenewendo said.
"As some of the largest producers of diamonds by quantity and value in the world, it is only right that we meet and join hands in discussing how to get the most out of this natural resource," she added.
Angola's mines ministry said in a statement that the two ministers discussed "the interest of both countries in acquiring shares in the multinational De Beers" but did not provide more details.

The two ministers did not take any questions as they headed to another meeting with Botswana's President Duma Boko in Gaborone.
Anglo put De Beers, one of the world's leading diamond companies, up for sale, valuing it at $4.9 billion, to focus on other parts of its business.

 

[WIA20XX]

Botswana and Angola hold talks as both seek control of De Beers​

November 7, 2025

"At the top of everyone's minds this year is the performance of the diamond industry and our collaborative efforts in bringing back the spark and the shine to the industry," Kenewendo said.

I see what you did there!

"As some of the largest producers of diamonds by quantity and value in the world, it is only right that we meet and join hands in discussing how to get the most out of this natural resource," she added.
Angola's mines ministry said in a statement that the two ministers discussed "the interest of both countries in acquiring shares in the multinational De Beers" but did not provide more details.

The two ministers did not take any questions as they headed to another meeting with Botswana's President Duma Boko in Gaborone.
Anglo put De Beers, one of the world's leading diamond companies, up for sale, valuing it at $4.9 billion, to focus on other parts of its business.

The bigger problem is that the industry is dying. Looks like them white boys are getting the final best deal as they take African riches back to Europe.

Like trying to buy Zenith or RCA as flat screens take over the industry.

As profits from natural resource extraction fall - can they parlay those profits into something else?

The Saudi's keep trying to do that with their oil money, and it's not clear to me if it's working.

 

[get these nets]

I see what you did there!



The bigger problem is that the industry is dying. Looks like them white boys are getting the final best deal as they take African riches back to Europe.

Like trying to buy Zenith or RCA as flat screens take over the industry.

As profits from natural resource extraction fall - can they parlay those profits into something else?

The Saudi's keep trying to do that with their oil money, and it's not clear to me if it's working.

Diamonds are used for purposes other than jewelry. The countries that produce them are exploring expanding those other markets, as they attempt to shore up control of the Debeers name and distribution.
Hopefully the previous govt. admins of Botswana were doing this as the 7 year negotiations were going on.

If the 3 countries are able build processing infrastructure for those other resources, with the profits from greater control of the main one, they come out ahead in the future

 

[WIA20XX]

Diamonds are used for purposes other than jewelry.

It's tricky.

When you dig up diamonds, 80% is only good enough for industrial uses. The market for industrial diamond is like 3-4 billion.
The other 20%, jewelry grade - The market for jewelry diamonds is like 75 billion.

China, from what I recall, initially ramped up their lab grown diamond production for the industrial uses, but the jewelry uses were a bonus.
More over, a lab grown diamond is like 60-80% cheaper than a mined diamond.

Throw in the fact that DeBeers has had an illegal monopoly the whole time (diamonds were already artificially expensive)....the future doesn't look good for Botswana or anyone else in the diamond mining business - if they're only trying to sell a resource.

Can they climb the value ladder? Most of the gem quality stones go to India to get cut and polished. (and NY, and Belgium and the Soviet Union and China, but mostly India from what I remember)

If they could do that in Botswana (or wherever), they could probably capture more of the value.... Could be a whole engagement/honeymoon trip - safari and a proposal...I digress.

But finishing the diamonds in Botswana coulda been doing from the very beginning. It's a skill, but it's not something that requires folks to attend 13-25 years of experience like being an engineer or a doctor.

A lot of West African nations have petroleum. The get paid for selling raw crude, but then have to import gasoline. It's only recently that Dangote decided to build a modern refinery in Nigeria.

Personally, I don't think this is some mistake on the part of the Africans. It's definitely not the lack of intelligence. And a lot of these ruling class/upper class Africans go to the best Western schools. (I went to Uni with the daughter of some major Tanzanian politician)

I think this is purposeful underdevelopment. (word to Walter Rodney)

• Mali has uranium but doesn't refine it. Sends it to France
• Jamaica has aluminum but doesn't refine it. Sends it to Louisiana for smelting.
• Bolivia was extracting lithium since 2008, but didn't start refining it until 2023. (Fun Fact, Elon Musk started throwing his 2 cents about the Bolivian government in 2020. I'm sure the rapid appreciation of useful minerals and government instability and western interests are totally unrelated)

We can't be the only people who see this. I'm sharp, but I'm not that sharp.