Botswana woos producers

Speaking at a recent mining conference, an official of the Diamond Hub, Mmetla Masire said that as Botswana moves ahead with efforts to become a global diamond centre in the mould of Tel Aviv, New York, Mumbai and Antwerp there is an opportunity for neighbouring countries to come and sell their diamonds in Botswana.

Apart from the De Beers contract sales, which are held 10 times a year, the state-owned Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) is conducting auctions in Gaborone while junior miner, Lucara is also undertaking regular ones at the Diamond Technology Park. Masire said that government has initiated negotiations with countries such as Angola, DRTC and Lesotho to use Botswana as a platform.