According to a press release published by the diamond miner, the decision to temporarily cease production from the two operations is in response to the continued slump experienced in the diamond market that has been hampering rough diamond sales since 2022. “This decision forms part of a strategic restructuring in response to ongoing market challenges in the global diamond industry, which has been marked by continued weakening of demand and falling prices for rough diamonds throughout 2023 and 2024,” the company said. Equally, in response to these market challenges, the Debswana Board of Directors at its March sitting approved the revision of 2025 production target to 15 million carats, down from the previously approved 18 million carats. “To ensure long-term sustainability and profitability, Debswana will prioritise production from open pit operations and processing plants that treat run-of-mine ore. “Consequently, the LTP and JMP will be placed under Care and Maintenance (C&M) until market conditions improve sufficiently to support additional processing capacity.
Damtshaa Mine will also remain under care and maintenance,” it added. Preliminary Bank of Botswana (BoB) figures indicate that Debswana sales fell to P24.6 billion last year, from P45.3 billion the prior year, with the prolonged diamond downturn weighing on the budget and bank liquidity. Last year’s performance is the worst since COVID-19 when sales dropped to P23.7 billion. However, in terms of percentage drop, the 46% fall in 2024 appears to be amongst the steepest on record. Debswana accounts for more than 95% of the country’s diamond sales and is a major contributor to both the budget and liquidity in the financial markets. The diamond company, owned equally by government and De Beers, sells the bulk of its production to the De Beers ecosystem and 25% to the state-owned diamond trader, Okavango Diamond Company. BoB figures show that monthly sales at Debswana sank to as low as P24.4 million in January last year and peaked at P4.5 billion in March. The poor performance of natural diamonds, driven in large part by retail market disruptions, is behind forecasts that the 2024–2025 budget will carry a record P18.7 billion deficit by the time the financial year ends on March 31. The company revealed that it would redeploy all affected employees to other areas of the business, whilst a few will remain on a skeletal structure to manage the closed operations on care and maintenance.
