Mining Weekly quoted company economist Peter Major as saying that the diamond mining industry was currently “filled up”.
However, Botswana Diamonds chief executive James Campbell had a diverging view as he said that there was still steady growth in diamond demand.
“People haven’t spent money on diamond exploration and, therefore, there are no new discoveries. The only one of note is Alrosa’s Luaxe kimberlite, in Angola, but there aren’t any more,” he was quoted as saying.
Luaxe was a joint venture between Alrosa and Angolan national diamond company Endiama.
The total commercial value of the deposit was said to be more than $35 billion.
Meanwhile, Major said Botswana Diamonds was a mining company to invest in at the moment, as “they are selling us an option on what could be reality, an option without an expiry date and that is the kind of option I like to invest in".
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished