The government of Botswana is planning to purchase a 24% share in the HB Antwerp diamond firm in Belgium as uncertainty surrounds the long-standing sales agreement between De Beers and the southern African nation.
VOA quoted Botswana president Mokgweetsi Masisi as saying during the official opening of HB Antwerp's cutting and polishing facility in Gaborone that Botswana must benefit more from its diamond resources.
"[we are doing so for the] simple reason that the returns that come with having control to sell our diamonds with value addition are much, much, higher than the returns on the sales of rough diamond stones," he said.
“It is time for Botswana to participate not only in the process of extracting diamonds and selling them as rough stones without having processed them into value-added commodities across the diamond trade value chain.”
Masisi recently made his displeasure known regarding a 54-year-old sales agreement with De Beers, which allows Botswana 25% of rough diamonds mined in a joint venture.
The current sales agreement, which was extended several times, is due to end on June 30.
Masisi said that his government will make a sizable investment in the three-year-old business as part of the agreement with HB Antwerp.
“In addition, the government of Botswana, through its rough diamond trading company, Okavango Diamond Company (ODC), will supply rough diamonds to HB Botswana, which is HB Antwerp’s local subsidiary, for a period of five years, with all the value addition to take place in Botswana,” said Masisi.
HB Antwerp co-founding director Rafael Papismedov said they will ensure Botswana gets a fair value for its diamonds.
“We are not here to nibble around the edges; we are all in,” he said.
“Our success has come and will continue to come from our fearless willingness to challenge every aspect of the way things have been done to date and to recognize value where others overlooked it.”
Botswana’s Minister of Minerals and Energy Lefoko Moagi said that they are breaking ground on many frontiers, as they seek to expand and grow meaningful participation in the entire diamond value chain.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
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