Lesotho courts Botswana on mineral beneficiation
Lewanika Timothy | Tuesday June 23, 2026 12:00
Prime Minister of the mountain kingdom, Samuel Matekane said the two neighbouring states should leverage their diamond resources to build downstream industries capable of generating jobs, skills and export earnings. “Mining has long been a defining sector of our economies, yet its true potential lies not merely in extraction, but in value addition,” he said at last week’s inaugural session of the Botswana-Lesotho Bi-National Commission (BNC) in Gaborone this week, Lesotho Matekane said. His remarks come at a time when governments across Africa are increasingly pushing beneficiation policies in response to decades of exporting raw minerals while higher-value activities such as processing, manufacturing and branding remained concentrated in developed economies.
Botswana is the world's leading producer of diamonds by value and has spent more than a decade pursuing beneficiation through local cutting and polishing, as well as securing the relocation of global diamond sales operations to Gaborone. Lesotho, meanwhile, is heavily reliant on diamond mining for export earnings but has limited downstream processing capacity. Matekane said the two countries could jointly expand diamond cutting, polishing and jewellery manufacturing while sharing expertise in mining governance, sustainability and technology transfer. “By joining hands, we can expand cutting, polishing and jewellery manufacturing, while also sharing expertise in mining governance, sustainability and technology transfer,” he said.
The proposal comes as the global diamond industry faces mounting pressure from subdued consumer demand, particularly in China, and growing competition from lab-grown diamonds. The downturn has exposed the vulnerability of mineral-dependent economies and strengthened calls for greater value addition as a strategy for economic diversification. Across the continent, countries such as Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa have also sought to increase local participation in mineral value chains, reflecting a broader shift towards resource nationalism and industrialisation. Beyond mining, Matekane said Botswana and Lesotho could build integrated regional value chains by combining their respective strengths. He cited Lesotho's textile manufacturing, agro-processing and diamond sector alongside Botswana's mining, livestock and services industries.
“By working together, we can move beyond exporting raw materials and instead build integrated value chains that create jobs and open new markets across the region and beyond,” he said. The call aligns with broader continental ambitions under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which seeks to promote regional industrialisation and intra-African trade by encouraging countries to process and manufacture more of their own resources before export.