Second quarter diamond exports smash records

The record-breaking performance closely mirrors De Beers' recently released historic sales figures for the first half of 2011 in which the diamond giant's rough diamond sales reached P22.5 billion.  Although the P9.1 billion exports recorded up to June include a marginal contribution from Firestone Diamonds' BK 11 Mine, the majority of exports are attributable to production from Debswana's three operational mines.

Together the three contribute about nearly 100 percent of all local diamond production and about 70 percent of De Beers' output. The record second quarter exports unveiled by the Bank of Botswana on Wednesday are attributable to the high rough diamond prices noted by De Beers in its first half results.