The government of the Republic of Botswana and De Beers Group have extended their existing agreement for the sale of Debswana’s rough diamond production another year.
It will now run through June 2023.
“Following further positive progress towards a new agreement being made in the first half of 2022, the two parties have agreed to the one-year extension to enable the finalization of the ongoing discussions,” a statement said.
According to Africa Intelligence, on a recent trip to Antwerp, Belgium, Botswana’s president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, said that he was intrigued by the deal struck by HB Antwerp and miner Lucara, which also mines in Botswana. In that arrangement, diamonds are sold on credit, and Lucara gets a percentage of the eventual polished price.
Debswana, which mines a majority of De Beers diamonds, is jointly owned by De Beers and the government of Botswana.
The two sides have been negotiating a new deal since prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The last deal the two parties signed was in 2011. That deal called for De Beers to move its diamond sales and sorting to Gaborone, Botswana. The move occurred in 2012.
This is the third time the deal has been extended. It was set to expire in 2020, but then extended until December 2021 because of COVID-19. Last year, the two parties extended the deal for six months.
Photo courtesy of De Beers
Follow JCK on Instagram: @jckmagazineFollow JCK on Twitter: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine
