De Beers "Confident" on Botswana Deal
February 21, 23
(IDEX Online) - De Beers says the long-standing agreement, under which it sells 75 per cent of Botswana's rough diamonds, will survive the current turmoil.
A company spokesman told Reuters this week it was "confident that our successful partnership will continue".
Two weeks ago the country's President Mokgweetsi Masisi told crowds at a rally of his ruling party that he would walk away from the deal unless he got more of the revenue.
For the last 54 years De Beers and the Botswana government have run Debswana as a a 50-50 joint venture. Seventy per cent of De Beers' diamonds are from Botswana.
The original agreement was that De Beers would sell 90 per cent of the country's diamonds and state-run Okavango Diamond Company would sell the remaining 10 per cent. In 2020 the split was adjusted to 75-25.
Both sides have been unable to reach agreement on a new deal and have extended the existing deal until 30 June this year.
Pic shows Debswana's Orapa mine.