DTC Arrangemnet Remains In Force - DeBeers

Staff Writer | Monday January 11, 2010 00:00

 

Last week Indian press ran articles which said India was to sign an agreement with Botswana to buy rough diamonds for its cutting and polishing industry instead of using De Beers as middleman.

Indian website LiveMint said an agreement was expected to be inked during the current visit of India's vice-president Hamid Ansari to Botswana which started on Saturday and ends Today.In a statement De Beers said as shareholders of Debswana, De Beers and the Government of Botswana have a long term commitment to sell all the company's production to DTC Botswana.

The shareholders also established DTC Botswana to serve as a vehicle for the promotion of Botswana as a global diamond centre and to promote beneficiation of Botswana diamonds.

The arrangements for the sale of the Debswana production are integral to the very purpose for which the DTC Botswana joint venture was formed.

The CEO of De Beers Botswana, Sheila Khama, said, 'We can confirm that these arrangements remain in force and are binding to the parties.

Further that Botswana's Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources officials have advised that there are no agreements being contemplated with the Indian authorities for the direct sale of rough diamonds, nor are there any formal discussions planned on this topic during the forthcoming visit by the Indian Government delegation.'

'The shareholders of Debswana and DTC Botswana remain committed to mine, sort, value and to sell all Debswana's production in a way that drives value for themselves and for the country,' she added.

Contacted for comment last week, permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources Gabaake Gabaake said the contract with DTC was still in force although  it is up for re negotiation in the few months.

'We have a standing agreement with DTC which ends in December this year and we are supposed to start renegotiating that contract in a few months time,' said Gabaake.
De Beers, the world's largest diamond producing and trading company, controls the mining and distribution of diamonds from Botswana, which accounts for 50 percent of its global trade.