Debswana plans for life beyond diamonds
Mbongeni Mguni | Monday October 27, 2025 11:35
According to a presentation made this week at the Botswana Mining Show, the plan, referred to as 'The Thrive Opportunities', involves activities such as solar power generation, biofuel generation, data monetisation, local manufacturing, small-scale mining, repair and maintenance, sustainable eco-tourism and others.
New Debswana Chief Operations Officer, Koolatotse Koolatotse, said the diamond giant’s board had approved a ratio in which 30% of spending was for the future growth projects and the balance for the core, ongoing business.
“The government of Botswana and the partners at De Beers have come out to say we are approving that 30% of your energy, your resources, your money should go to opportunities for growth. “Hence, 30% of what we are doing as a business is what we have for the future,” Koolatotse told the inaugural Botswana Mining Show on Tuesday.
One of the projects involves the construction of a major solar farm just before Jwaneng, whose output will not only help the mine’s diamonds become carbon neutral but also contribute to the nation’s electricity needs.
Under data monetisation, Debswana is looking at extracting value from its data inventory and also competing in the area of technical consultations. The diamond giant is even exploring a Diamonds to Mutton project, where the assessments of the viability of lamb and sheep production have reached an advanced stage.
Besides these, Debswana wants to see its existing subsidiaries, such as Sesiro Insurance and Naledi Mining Company, expand their reach beyond their current client. Sesiro reportedly has the country’s largest insured assets at over P6 billion in the mining sector, whilst Naledi is the main labour contractor for the Cut 9 mega project.
Sesiro and Naledi’s core clientele is Debswana and allied firms, but strategists at the diamond group want to see both firms reach further into the broader domestic and regional economy.
Koolatotse painted a picture of the reality Debswana finds itself in as it plans its future. He said since its establishment in the 1970s, the diamond giant had exploited about 60% of its resources, and the balance left was faced with several challenges.
“When we mined them, they were cheaper to mine because they were closer to the surface,” the COO said. “The prices were also good because we dominated the market. “With the 40% that is left, the value has dropped, and we have lost market share, where people can now reject the prices we are seeking and go to rivals. “It is now more expensive to mine them because they are deeper, and we will have to go underground to get them. “Our plants are older and require more regular service. “Also, because our mines are deeper, you need more trucks to carry the same amount of rock, and therefore more fuel, and more people, and ultimately, you spend a lot to get less.”
Koolatotse said as it plans its timelines for the future, Debswana regarded the period between 2025 and 2027 as 'survival mode' to stabilise the business and emerge from the prolonged downturn in diamonds.
Between 2027 and 2029, activities will be shifting towards setting up Debswana for the future, focusing on the various plans for a post-diamond era.
However, a major focus for the diamond group is to restrain its spending in order to prolong operations at the mine. With natural diamond prices under pressure, cost containment is required to ensure that operations can continue into the future and support the long-term plans being made.
This effort is made particularly challenging as the deepening mines, ageing plants, and other pressures on costs such as consumables, labour, and others keep rising.
Debswana estimates that it needs to cut its spending from the current estimate of P10 billion annually to P6 billion, or risk a crunch point in the next decade.
The diamond group’s largest expense is labour, accounting for about 42% of annual costs. Debswana has avoided retrenchment, despite the downturn, and has instead opted for voluntary separation under which staff can take up the packages on offer.
“Voluntary separation means you volunteer to say ‘I'm ready, I've worked for 18 years, and I've made a plan to survive with the exit package” “So when the Debswana talks about voluntary self-management, please fix that narrative because the narrative has been job losses. “It's not job losses and actually Debswana is creating employers because 80% of the people that have left Debswana have moved on to employ other people,” Koolatotse said.
Fuel as a cost is a different matter for the diamond group. Where diesel prices per litre were P8, today they are as much as P15. Debswana consumes 120 million litres annually, and each increase hits its operations hard, at a time when diamond prices have been on a downward trend for years.
The COO said that as the diamond group looks forward, the 40% of resources left to be mined needed to impact the country’s citizens. He challenged delegates at the Mining Show to engage the diamond group on initiatives to partner and share value.
“At Debswana, we have a vision and a dream,” Koolatotse said. “That remaining 40%, Batswana must benefit as much as possible. “We must jealously mean this without fear.”