Botswana may not renew a five-decade sales agreement with De Beers if the diamond producer doesn’t offer a larger share of rough diamonds to the state’s gem trading company, Okavango Diamond Company (ODC). The move comes after the southern Africa nation acquired last month a 24% stake in Belgian diamond processing firm HB Antwerp for an undisclosed sum. Analysts saw this deal as a way for Botswana to loosen the Anglo American-owned miner’s grip on its diamond
India-based VD Global discovered the 0.329-carat, D-color, type IaAB diamond, named the Beating Heart, in October, and returned it to De Beers for testing, the miner said last week. The stone originated from one of De Beers’ mines in Botswana, Canada, Namibia or South Africa. The miner sent the stone to the De Beers Institute of Diamonds, which performed a preliminary analysis, as well as optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared spectroscopy and fluorescence,
Angola and Namibia intend to increasingly strengthen cooperation in the area of oil and mineral resources, JA Online learned this Wednesday 5th April, as part of the visit of the Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, who is in Windhoek , for a visit at the invitation of his counterpart, Tom Alweendo. According to the Angolan official, the workday allows “to see Namibia’s experience in the exploration of diamonds in the sea,
The Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino Pedro Azevedo, said Wednesday 5th April that Namibia can help Angola in the exploration of diamonds and uranium from the sea. The announcement was made during a joint declaration by Angola and Namibia, on the sidelines of a technical meeting between the Namibian Ministry of Mines and Energy and an Angolan delegation, headed by the oil minister, who traveled to that country. In the statement, the
South Africa’s mining production dropped 1.9% in January, making it the twelfth consecutive month of year-on-year decline, data released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) show. Platinum group metals (PGMs) and diamonds were the main negative contributors. PGMs output eased 15.2% contributing -3.5 percentage points, while diamonds production was 15.5% lower contributing -0.9 percentage points. However, iron-ore and coal were significant positive contributors with the former’s output increasing 12.1% contributing 1.4 percentage points and the
Botswana Diamonds has begun mining at Marsfontein in South Africa, as a proof-of-concept trial project that it expects will help improve operations at its larger Thorny River project. The company, which has faced challenges including plant delivery delays and adverse weather, said it’s now on track to start production at Thorny River in the second half of this year. Botswana Diamonds is working on bringing the two projects — Marsfontein and Thorny River — into production this
Zimbabwe is confident of meeting its $1 billion revenue target from the sale of diamonds in 2023 due to improved production, a government official has said. “We will meet the target. All producers are selling now unlike last year when little was sold for the better part of that year,” Newsday quoted Mines permanent secretary Pfungwa Kunaka as saying at the ordinary meeting of the African Diamond Producers Association (ADPA) held in Victoria Falls last
The South African multinational De Beers expects to raise a provisional value of sales of rough diamonds in the order of 495 million dollars for the second sales cycle of 2023, according to Anglo American. According to data from Endiama that Jornal de Angola had access to, the revenue raised increased by 9 percent compared to the US$454 million recorded during the first diamond sales last year, which reached US$652 million. The group’s chief executive, Al
The president of Botswana has threatened to pull out of its partnership with Diamond company De Beers if the company refuses to renegotiate a larger share for the Southern African country. Botswana will not back down from its demand for a larger share of the diamonds produced by its joint venture with De Beers, President of Botswana, Mokgweetsi Masisi said on Thursday, 9th Mar upping the stakes in negotiations to renew a sales agreement that
Gem Diamonds has recovered an exceptional 122-carat D colour Type II white diamond at its 70%-owned Letšeng mine in Lesotho. This is the first diamond greater than 100 carats that the company has recovered this year. It only recovered four diamonds greater than 100 carats in 2022 from six in 2021, which was lower than the 14-year average of eight. This impacted the overall revenue generated last year. Gem sold 107 498 carats in 2022
