New findings hold the potential to spark future diamond discoveries.
An international team of scientists, led by the University of Southampton, has found that the breakup of tectonic plates is the main driving force behind the generation and eruption of diamond-rich magmas from deep inside the Earth.
This insight could significantly influence the trajectory of the diamond exploration industry, guiding efforts to locations where diamonds are most probable.
Diamonds, which form under great pressures at depth, are hundreds of millions, or even billions, of years old. They are typically found in a type of volcanic rock known as kimberlite. Kimberlites are found in the oldest, thickest, strongest parts of continents – most notably in South Africa, home to the diamond rush of the late 19th century. But how and why they got to Earth’s surface has, until now, remained a mystery.
The new research examined the effects of global tectonic forces on these volcanic eruptions spanning the last billion years. The findings have been published in the journal Nature.
Southampton researchers collaborated with colleagues from the University of Birmingham, the University of Potsdam, the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Portland State University, Macquarie University, the University of Leeds, the University of Florence, and Queen’s University, Ontario.
Tom Gernon, Professor of Earth Science and Principal Research Fellow at the University of Southampton, and lead author of the study, said: “The pattern of diamond eruptions is cyclical, mimicking the rhythm of the supercontinents, which assemble and break up in a repeated pattern over time. But previously we didn’t know what process causes diamonds to suddenly erupt, having spent millions – or billions – of years stashed away 150 kilometers beneath the Earth’s surface.”
To address this question, the team used statistical analysis, including machine learning, to forensically examine the link between continental breakup and kimberlite volcanism. The results showed the eruptions of most kimberlite volcanoes occurred 20 to 30 million years after the tectonic breakup of Earth’s continents.
Dr. Thea Hincks, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Southampton, said: “Using geospatial analysis, we found that kimberlite eruptions tend to gradually migrate from the continental edges to the interiors over time at rates that are consistent across the continents.”
Geological processes
This discovery prompted the scientists to explore what geological process could drive this pattern. They found that the Earth’s mantle – the convecting layer between the crust and core – is disrupted by rifting (or stretching) of the crust, even thousands of kilometers away.
Dr Stephen Jones, Associate Professor in Earth Systems at the University of Birmingham, and study co-author said: “We found that a domino effect can explain how continental breakup leads to the formation of kimberlite magma. During rifting, a small patch of the continental root is disrupted and sinks into the mantle below, triggering a chain of similar flow patterns beneath the nearby continent.”
Dr. Sascha Brune, Head of the Geodynamic Modelling Section at GFZ Potsdam, and a co-author on the study, ran simulations to investigate how this process unfolds. He said: “While sweeping along the continental root, these disruptive flows remove a substantial amount of rock, tens of kilometers thick, from the base of the continental plate.”
The typical migration rates estimated in models matched what the scientists observed from kimberlite records.
“Remarkably, this process brings together the necessary ingredients in the right amounts to trigger just enough melting to generate kimberlites,” added Dr Gernon.
The team’s research could be used to identify the possible locations and timings of past volcanic eruptions tied to this process, offering valuable insights that could enable the discovery of diamond deposits in the future.
Professor Gernon, who was recently awarded a major philanthropic grant from the WoodNext Foundation to study the factors contributing to global cooling over time, said the study also sheds light on how processes deep within the Earth control those at the surface: “Breakup not only reorganizes the mantle, but may also profoundly impact Earth’s surface environment and climate, so diamonds might be just a part of the story.”
Reference: “Rift-induced disruption of cratonic keels drives kimberlite volcanism” by Thomas M. Gernon, Stephen M. Jones, Sascha Brune, Thea K. Hincks, Martin R. Palmer, John C. Schumacher, Rebecca M. Primiceri, Matthew Field, William L. Griffin, Suzanne Y. O’Reilly, Derek Keir, Christopher J. Spencer, Andrew S. Merdith and Anne Glerum, 26 July 2023, Nature.
India’s only diamond mine will put up to 84,000 carats a year
Majhgawan-Panna, India’s only diamond mine which was shot down at the end of 2020, will resume production in July 2023 “with a forecast output of up to 84,000 carats a year,” IDEX Online reports.
Majhgawan-Panna, located near the town of Panna in Madhya Pradesh, was closed after environmental clearances “lapsed following concerns from the nearby Panna Tiger Reserve.” Despite this, the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), India’s biggest iron ore merchant miner, plans to resume work there.
According to the report, repeated concerns by the National Wildlife Board has caused mining at the mine to halt “stopped several times over the last 50 years.” In FY2021, the mine produced 13,681 carats.
The kimberlite cluster is located around 110km north-east of a Finsch diamond mine.
Diamond mining company Botswana Diamonds has secured a five-year prospecting licence on ground containing the Reivilo cluster of kimberlites in Barkley West, South Africa.
The kimberlite cluster is located around 110km north-east of a Finsch diamond mine owned by Petra Diamonds.
According to an exploration by the previous licence holder, the area holds a delineated a cluster of three kimberlite pipes, all within a 250m radius.
The prospecting licence is effective until June 2027.
Botswana Diamonds chairman John Teeling said: “When the ground became recently available, we immediately applied for the area.
“Botswana Diamonds management have long been aware of the diamond potential of this ground, and so we are delighted to have finally been awarded this high-profile exploration ground and look forward to updating shareholders in the near future on developments.”
Botswana Diamonds plans to finalise its exploration programme after carrying out a review of all the available data on the Reivilo cluster.
The firm said in a statement: “Samples of the drilling core produced G10 and eclogitic garnets, which are the optimal indicators for diamondiferous kimberlites.”
In July this year, Botswana Diamonds purchased an additional stake in the prospective Maibwe joint venture (JV) in Botswana.
The company holds a 51.7% stake in Siseko Minerals, which increased its stake in the JV from 29% to 50%.
At the time, Botswana Diamonds said it was involved in three companies focused on diamond exploration in Botswana, as well as owned assets in South Africa.
Maibwe currently holds 11 prospecting licences in Botswana’s area of the Kalahari Desert, which include several kimberlite pipes.
In October 2019, Botswana Diamonds received a mining permit for gravels and unprocessed stockpiles around the Marsfontein mine in South Africa via its associate, Vutomi Mining.
The first steps towards setting up a traceability program have been taken in Democratic Republic Congo (DRC), which dominates the world’s supply of diamonds from artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM).
A pilot project involving Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), the DRC mining ministry and tech company Everledger aims to establish a fully transparent value chain in a country which has a diamond sector vulnerable to human rights violations, poor working conditions, corruption and opaque or illicit trade. The project, called OrigemA, is initially being funded by the AWDC and will focus on transparency, sustainability and fair trade. The DRC is the largest producer of artisanal mined diamonds in the world, accounting for nearly 70 per cent of global ASM production, which in turn constitutes an estimated 15 to 20% of the total diamond production in the world. DRC’s mining minister Antoinette N’Samba Kalambayi said stakeholders “will work with the other partners to create a legal and fiscal framework that allows efficient formalization, combatting corruption, eradicating logistical hurdles, and increasing transparency in financial and fiscal flows.” Karen Rentmeesters, AWDC’s head of industry relations, said: “This bottom-up, collaborative approach ensures that we create a model that considers the realities of artisanal, small-scale mining in remote regions and that the resulting blueprint can be scaled up and replicated in the field.”
Sales of rough diamonds by Debswana Diamond Company jumped 73% in the first nine months of 2021, statistics released by the Bank of Botswana showed on Tuesday, driven by the reopening of U.S. and China’s consumer markets.
Debswana, a joint venture between Anglo American business De Beers and the Botswana government, sells 75% of its output to De Beers, with the balance taken up by state-owned Okavango Diamond Company.
Debswana sales fell by 30% in 2020 as the covid-19 pandemic hit demand while global travel restrictions hurt trading.
Botswana closed its borders for eight months last year in an effort to curb the spread of the virus, effectively locking out foreign buyers from centres such as Mumbai, Antwerp and China, who traditionally travel to Gaborone 10 times a year to view and buy diamonds from De Beers.
Since mid-2020 De Beers has shifted some of its rough viewings to places closer to international diamond centres, such as Antwerp, to cater for customers unable to travel to Gaborone.
According to data published by the central bank, exports of diamonds from Debswana stood at $2.589 billion in the first nine months of the year compared with $1.498 billion in the same period last year.
Botswana makes about 30% of its revenue and 70% of its foreign exchange earnings from diamonds. While it has taken measures to diversify its dependence on a single commodity, diamond sales continue to be its main revenue earner.
De Beers’ sales softened by 4% in the current sales period, which ended last week, as Indian manufacturers closed factories ahead of the Diwali festival, though the company said diamond jewellery demand remained strong in the United States.
Sales of rough diamonds by Debswana Diamond Company jumped 73% in the first nine months of 2021, statistics released by the Bank of Botswana showed on Tuesday, driven by the reopening of U.S. and China’s consumer markets.
Debswana, a joint venture between Anglo American business De Beers and the Botswana government, sells 75% of its output to De Beers, with the balance taken up by state-owned Okavango Diamond Company.
Debswana sales fell by 30% in 2020 as the covid-19 pandemic hit demand while global travel restrictions hurt trading.
Botswana closed its borders for eight months last year in an effort to curb the spread of the virus, effectively locking out foreign buyers from centres such as Mumbai, Antwerp and China, who traditionally travel to Gaborone 10 times a year to view and buy diamonds from De Beers.
Since mid-2020 De Beers has shifted some of its rough viewings to places closer to international diamond centres, such as Antwerp, to cater for customers unable to travel to Gaborone.
According to data published by the central bank, exports of diamonds from Debswana stood at $2.589 billion in the first nine months of the year compared with $1.498 billion in the same period last year.
Botswana makes about 30% of its revenue and 70% of its foreign exchange earnings from diamonds. While it has taken measures to diversify its dependence on a single commodity, diamond sales continue to be its main revenue earner.
De Beers’ sales softened by 4% in the current sales period, which ended last week, as Indian manufacturers closed factories ahead of the Diwali festival, though the company said diamond jewellery demand remained strong in the United States.
After a devastating 2020 which saw a near-collapse in the global diamond trade, Mountain Province Diamonds‘ latest sales figures show the sparkle may be starting to return to the diamond sector.
The 49% owner of the Gahcho Kué mine in the Northwest Territories, operated by 51% owner De Beers, sold 241,827 carats of diamonds for $21.8 million or $90 per carat in the sale, which closed on Jan. 22 in Antwerp. That represents an encouraging increase from an average sales price of $64 per carat in the final quarter of 2020 and $37 per carat in the third quarter.
“The first sale of the year was excellent, the growing confidence amongst rough diamond buyers translated into a healthy price improvement of 8% on a like for like basis when compared to our record high volume December sale,” said Mountain Province president and CEO, Stuart Brown, in a release. “We expect to see a continuation of the positive trend as rough and polished markets continue to strengthen post a successful retail season.”
The company’s next sale, in February, will include the 157-carat “Polaris” gem diamond, recovered in the fourth quarter. Named after the North Star, the stone appears colourless in daylight, but under ultraviolet light “exhibits a rare natural blue fluorescence that echoes its Arctic origins.”
Mountain Province recently released its production and sales results for the fourth quarter. Two confirmed cases of covid-19 during the quarter affected production as existing health and safety precautions were further enhanced. For the quarter, the operation saw a 12% decrease in total tonnes mined (ore and waste), a 21% decrease in tonnes treated (to 736,140 tonnes), and a 23% decline in carats recovered (to 1.5 million carats).
Mountain Province’s share of fourth-quarter production was nearly 745,600 carats.
For the year, the company recorded total sales of 3.3 million diamonds at an average price of $51 per carat for C$227 million ($171.3 million) in revenue.
“Under very difficult circumstances, all driven by Covid-19, the Gahcho Kué mine has performed well in being able to maintain production, albeit at a reduced level, and came very close to the revised guidance in tonnes mined and treated and exceeded the revised guidance target for carats recovered,” Brown said earlier this month on the release of the production figures. He added that the carat recovery was “particularly pleasing under the circumstances” and positioned the company for positive sales numbers in the first quarter of 2021.
Brown said that the last quarter of the year saw a “strong recovery” in the diamond market. In addition, the late 2020 closure of Rio Tinto‘s high-volume Argyle mine in Australia is expected to help establish a “more balanced” supply and demand equilibrium.
“The diamond market came under unprecedented pressure from early March to early September and although this pressure remains, we did see a strong recovery with respect to rough diamond demand in the last quarter of the year,” Brown said. “The two sales during the last quarter saw significant price recovery across all categories of diamonds sold. Early diamond jewelry retail sales reports are encouraging, and we expect to see steady demand for rough diamonds in the first quarter of 2021. There will no doubt still be challenges ahead but we are certainly more positive in our outlook as we start 2021 compared to the middle of 2020.”
After a devastating 2020 which saw a near-collapse in the global diamond trade, Mountain Province Diamonds‘ latest sales figures show the sparkle may be starting to return to the diamond sector.
The 49% owner of the Gahcho Kué mine in the Northwest Territories, operated by 51% owner De Beers, sold 241,827 carats of diamonds for $21.8 million or $90 per carat in the sale, which closed on Jan. 22 in Antwerp. That represents an encouraging increase from an average sales price of $64 per carat in the final quarter of 2020 and $37 per carat in the third quarter.
“The first sale of the year was excellent, the growing confidence amongst rough diamond buyers translated into a healthy price improvement of 8% on a like for like basis when compared to our record high volume December sale,” said Mountain Province president and CEO, Stuart Brown, in a release. “We expect to see a continuation of the positive trend as rough and polished markets continue to strengthen post a successful retail season.”
The company’s next sale, in February, will include the 157-carat “Polaris” gem diamond, recovered in the fourth quarter. Named after the North Star, the stone appears colourless in daylight, but under ultraviolet light “exhibits a rare natural blue fluorescence that echoes its Arctic origins.”
Mountain Province recently released its production and sales results for the fourth quarter. Two confirmed cases of covid-19 during the quarter affected production as existing health and safety precautions were further enhanced. For the quarter, the operation saw a 12% decrease in total tonnes mined (ore and waste), a 21% decrease in tonnes treated (to 736,140 tonnes), and a 23% decline in carats recovered (to 1.5 million carats).
Mountain Province’s share of fourth-quarter production was nearly 745,600 carats.
For the year, the company recorded total sales of 3.3 million diamonds at an average price of $51 per carat for C$227 million ($171.3 million) in revenue.
“Under very difficult circumstances, all driven by Covid-19, the Gahcho Kué mine has performed well in being able to maintain production, albeit at a reduced level, and came very close to the revised guidance in tonnes mined and treated and exceeded the revised guidance target for carats recovered,” Brown said earlier this month on the release of the production figures. He added that the carat recovery was “particularly pleasing under the circumstances” and positioned the company for positive sales numbers in the first quarter of 2021.
Brown said that the last quarter of the year saw a “strong recovery” in the diamond market. In addition, the late 2020 closure of Rio Tinto‘s high-volume Argyle mine in Australia is expected to help establish a “more balanced” supply and demand equilibrium.
“The diamond market came under unprecedented pressure from early March to early September and although this pressure remains, we did see a strong recovery with respect to rough diamond demand in the last quarter of the year,” Brown said. “The two sales during the last quarter saw significant price recovery across all categories of diamonds sold. Early diamond jewelry retail sales reports are encouraging, and we expect to see steady demand for rough diamonds in the first quarter of 2021. There will no doubt still be challenges ahead but we are certainly more positive in our outlook as we start 2021 compared to the middle of 2020.”
Petra Diamonds has abandoned plans to sell the business in favour of a debt-for-equity restructuring, it said on Tuesday, sending its shares lower because of the deal’s dilutive effect on existing stakeholders.
The London-listed company, which mines diamonds in South Africa and Tanzania, had put itself up for sale in June as part of the restructuring process but has received no viable offers, it said.
Its shares have slumped by more than 80% this year as the COVID-19 pandemic has battered the global diamond sector, with mines forced to shut down while consumer demand collapsed. The shares opened with an 18% drop and by 0952 GMT were down 3.6%.
Petra said its existing $650 million of bond debt will be partly replaced by up to $337 million of new notes, including $30 million of new money contributed by debtholders.
The remaining note debt will be converted into equity, leaving debtholders with a combined 91% of the company while diluting existing shareholders to a combined stake of only 9%.
“For existing equity holders it is very dilutive, as expected,” wrote Liberum analyst Ben Davis.
Existing shareholders will be diluted to “next to nothing”, Shore Capital analysts wrote.
Peel Hunt analysts took a more optimistic view, saying the restructuring would give Petra a more sustainable balance sheet and help it to benefit from a recovery in markets for rough diamonds. They calculated that Petra would be left with $444 million of gross debt.
Petra said it expects to seal a “lock-up agreement” cementing the terms with the noteholder group and South African lenders in early November. It expects the restructuring to become effective in the first quarter of 2021.
The agreement also includes new governance arrangements and cashflow controls.
Petra Chief Executive Richard Duffy expressed the company’s gratitude to the noteholder group and South African lenders for their agreement in principle to provide “meaningful additional liquidity” in what has been a difficult period.
Petra Diamonds has abandoned plans to sell the business in favour of a debt-for-equity restructuring, it said on Tuesday, sending its shares lower because of the deal’s dilutive effect on existing stakeholders.
The London-listed company, which mines diamonds in South Africa and Tanzania, had put itself up for sale in June as part of the restructuring process but has received no viable offers, it said.
Its shares have slumped by more than 80% this year as the COVID-19 pandemic has battered the global diamond sector, with mines forced to shut down while consumer demand collapsed. The shares opened with an 18% drop and by 0952 GMT were down 3.6%.
Petra said its existing $650 million of bond debt will be partly replaced by up to $337 million of new notes, including $30 million of new money contributed by debtholders.
The remaining note debt will be converted into equity, leaving debtholders with a combined 91% of the company while diluting existing shareholders to a combined stake of only 9%.
“For existing equity holders it is very dilutive, as expected,” wrote Liberum analyst Ben Davis.
Existing shareholders will be diluted to “next to nothing”, Shore Capital analysts wrote.
Peel Hunt analysts took a more optimistic view, saying the restructuring would give Petra a more sustainable balance sheet and help it to benefit from a recovery in markets for rough diamonds. They calculated that Petra would be left with $444 million of gross debt.
Petra said it expects to seal a “lock-up agreement” cementing the terms with the noteholder group and South African lenders in early November. It expects the restructuring to become effective in the first quarter of 2021.
The agreement also includes new governance arrangements and cashflow controls.
Petra Chief Executive Richard Duffy expressed the company’s gratitude to the noteholder group and South African lenders for their agreement in principle to provide “meaningful additional liquidity” in what has been a difficult period.
The Namibia Desert Diamonds General Manager of Sales and Marketing, Lelly Usiku, said the threat of synthetic diamonds has brought about an opportunity in the diamond industry to focus on the traceability of the precious stones to verify diamond origins from the mines to jewellery.
Usiku expressed these sentiments during a panel discussion on the diamond industry and its associated value chains. She further outlined that Covid-19 forced Namdia to investigate the possibilities of online trading in order to replicate the physical viewing with a virtual viewing experience.
Chief Executive Officer of Namdia, Kennedy Hamutenya, said in protecting the image of diamonds, the industry made a commitment in 2008 on the number of producers and manufacturers through the Kimberly Process. He said the process helped squeeze out undesirable elements from the diamond business.
According to Hamutenya, trading partnered states agreed to create a menu for the world and buyers that ensured diamonds on the market would not be associated with conflict diamonds. Conflict diamonds are diamonds mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, an invading army’s war efforts, or warlord activities. “So, we said every country must implement systems and procedures from the very starting point of mining to the point of export to ensure that there is no penetration of conflict diamonds.
Today, as we speak, 99.8% of all our diamonds are clean, thanks to the Kimberly Process. We have done everything possible to prevent conflict diamonds to penetrate our pipeline,” Hamutenya stated.
According to him, Namdeb Holdings has spent N$3 billion on local procurement of goods and services for the last financial year. Also, at the same occasion, Brent Eiseb, CEO of the Namibia Diamond Trading Company, elaborated on their mandate and said they sort and value diamonds. He noted that the process entails highly skilled employees as well as technology. He added that whether diamond mining happens on land or offshore, the value is only confirmed when the stones go through NDTC’s evaluation process.
“This is an important process as it determines the value of royalties and taxes that is to be paid by producers to the government. Another mandate is to facilitate downstream diamond beneficiation. We take about N$430 million in indexed diamonds and make them available for value addition in Namibia,” explained Eiseb. He added that this process is vital because it requires quality infrastructure, especially in Namibia, for cutting and polishing of diamonds and also for creating the most job opportunities.
Eiseb concluded that the diamond industry is important in providing for the country at large through development diamonds. He indicated that 85% of total revenue that is created through the sales of diamonds ends up in state coffers through royalties, taxes, and levies that are payable and dividends.
The Namibia Desert Diamonds General Manager of Sales and Marketing, Lelly Usiku, said the threat of synthetic diamonds has brought about an opportunity in the diamond industry to focus on the traceability of the precious stones to verify diamond origins from the mines to jewellery.
Usiku expressed these sentiments during a panel discussion on the diamond industry and its associated value chains. She further outlined that Covid-19 forced Namdia to investigate the possibilities of online trading in order to replicate the physical viewing with a virtual viewing experience.
Chief Executive Officer of Namdia, Kennedy Hamutenya, said in protecting the image of diamonds, the industry made a commitment in 2008 on the number of producers and manufacturers through the Kimberly Process. He said the process helped squeeze out undesirable elements from the diamond business.
According to Hamutenya, trading partnered states agreed to create a menu for the world and buyers that ensured diamonds on the market would not be associated with conflict diamonds. Conflict diamonds are diamonds mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, an invading army’s war efforts, or warlord activities. “So, we said every country must implement systems and procedures from the very starting point of mining to the point of export to ensure that there is no penetration of conflict diamonds.
Today, as we speak, 99.8% of all our diamonds are clean, thanks to the Kimberly Process. We have done everything possible to prevent conflict diamonds to penetrate our pipeline,” Hamutenya stated.
According to him, Namdeb Holdings has spent N$3 billion on local procurement of goods and services for the last financial year. Also, at the same occasion, Brent Eiseb, CEO of the Namibia Diamond Trading Company, elaborated on their mandate and said they sort and value diamonds. He noted that the process entails highly skilled employees as well as technology. He added that whether diamond mining happens on land or offshore, the value is only confirmed when the stones go through NDTC’s evaluation process.
“This is an important process as it determines the value of royalties and taxes that is to be paid by producers to the government. Another mandate is to facilitate downstream diamond beneficiation. We take about N$430 million in indexed diamonds and make them available for value addition in Namibia,” explained Eiseb. He added that this process is vital because it requires quality infrastructure, especially in Namibia, for cutting and polishing of diamonds and also for creating the most job opportunities.
Eiseb concluded that the diamond industry is important in providing for the country at large through development diamonds. He indicated that 85% of total revenue that is created through the sales of diamonds ends up in state coffers through royalties, taxes, and levies that are payable and dividends.
According to the official, synthetics will “compromise” the value of Botswana’s natural diamonds
Lucara Diamonds
Mmetla Masire, permanent secretary at Botswana’s Ministry of Minerals, said in a Parliamentary Accounts Committee quoted by Rough & Polished that Botswana cannot engage in production and sale of synthetic diamonds as this will compromise “the value of our diamonds”. Credit: Debswana
De Beers mining
Masire said that “Botswana will send a confusing message to its customers should it decide to produce and sale synthetic diamonds”. He added that the Debswana Diamond Company (the joint venture between the government of Botswana and diamond miner De Beers) is searching for other markets other than the US to sell its diamonds, including in China. Credit: De Beers
Masire “refused to provide an update on the ongoing negotiations between Gaborone and De Beers as disclosure of any information pertaining to the negotiations will potentially influence the outcome”. Botswana and De Beers’ huge 10-year diamond sale agreement is expected to expire by the end of 2020. Botswana accounts for more than two-thirds of De Beers’ diamond production.
According to the official, synthetics will “compromise” the value of Botswana’s natural diamonds
Lucara Diamonds
Mmetla Masire, permanent secretary at Botswana’s Ministry of Minerals, said in a Parliamentary Accounts Committee quoted by Rough & Polished that Botswana cannot engage in production and sale of synthetic diamonds as this will compromise “the value of our diamonds”. Credit: Debswana
De Beers mining
Masire said that “Botswana will send a confusing message to its customers should it decide to produce and sale synthetic diamonds”. He added that the Debswana Diamond Company (the joint venture between the government of Botswana and diamond miner De Beers) is searching for other markets other than the US to sell its diamonds, including in China. Credit: De Beers
Masire “refused to provide an update on the ongoing negotiations between Gaborone and De Beers as disclosure of any information pertaining to the negotiations will potentially influence the outcome”. Botswana and De Beers’ huge 10-year diamond sale agreement is expected to expire by the end of 2020. Botswana accounts for more than two-thirds of De Beers’ diamond production.
