Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi on Wednesday labeled synthetic gems a significant threat to the country’s economic foundation, as the government prepares to launch a $6-billion project to extend the life of its flagship Jwaneng diamond mine.
The natural diamond market has faced challenges over the past two years due to rising consumer demand for cheaper lab-grown diamonds and global macroeconomic volatility.
Masisi will attend the JCK Show in Las Vegas this week, the world’s largest jewelry trade event, to promote Botswana as a leading producer of ethically and responsibly sourced diamonds.
The country is striving to protect its market share for natural diamonds.
According to data from the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, Botswana produced 20% of the world’s total rough diamonds in 2022, second only to Russia. However, Botswana is the world’s top diamond producer by value.
Diamonds contribute up to 40% of Botswana’s government revenue, 75% of its foreign exchange earnings, and a third of its national output.
“If lab-grown diamonds take our space, then you and I are finished,” Masisi told reporters as he departed for the United States.
He pledged to wage “a peaceful assault against lab-grown diamonds, to give confidence to our partners and dampen any attraction to lab-growns.”
Botswana and its partner De Beers, set to be spun off by parent company Anglo American, plan to launch the first phase of a $6-billion project on June 28 to extend the Jwaneng mine’s lifespan from 2032 to 2054.
The first phase, expected to cost $1 billion, will establish a drilling platform for comprehensive sampling of diamond-bearing rock and develop essential infrastructure to support further stages of the project.
In operation since 1982, Jwaneng produces an average of 11 million carats per year and employs 2,100 permanent employees and 3,200 contractors.
At the JCK Show, Masisi also plans to lobby the United States against the Group of Seven (G7) countries’ proposal to ensure all diamonds entering the bloc pass through Antwerp in Belgium for certification.
The US, which consumes around 40% of the world’s diamonds, is leading this push as part of sanctions imposed on Russian diamonds following the invasion of Ukraine.
