DTC sightholders perturbed as market opens up

The 16 diamond cutting and polishing firms are Diamond Trading Company Botswana (DTCB) sightholders with exclusive rights to all production from Debswana. However, the entry of production from Firestone's BK 11 Mine near Orapa and forthcoming supply from African Diamonds AK6 has unruffled monopoly feathers. Sightholders who spoke to BusinessWeek on condition of anonymity this week said while there was high interest in the industry to tap into Firestone and African Diamonds' supply, legal grey areas still existed in terms of the sightholder contract with DTCB.

The local firms are representatives of their international parent companies who actually sign the sightholder contracts with De Beers, a 50 percent shareholder in DTCB, alongside the Government of Botswana. "Most are seeking clarification on the sightholder contract to see whether it allows them to tender for the production that will soon be coming through from Firestone and African Diamonds," said a representative at one of the sightholders.