Debswana Rough Sales Down 25% in 2023
March 14, 24
(IDEX Online) - Rough diamond sales at Debswana fell by just over a quarter (25.1 per cent) to $3.44bn in 2023, according to new figures released by the Bank of Botswana.
The company - jointly owned by De Beers and the Botswana government - said it would reduce its 2024 output to reflect slower demand globally. Production in 2023 was up 2 per cent to 24.7m carats.
It achieved record sales of $4.59bn in 2022, but has been hit by the economic slowdown and the rising popularity of lab growns.
Three quarters of Debswana's production is currently sold by De Beers. But under a new deal agreed last June, the state-owned Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) will see its share increase over the next decade from 25 per cent to 50 per cent.
In January Debswana approved a $1bn investment to enable underground mining at Jwaneng, its biggest deposit, which currently represents about 40 per cent of De Beers total production.
Pic shows Jwaneng mine.