24 Mar 2024

The diamond market is expected to gradually improve throughout this year, says Orapa Letlhakane and Damtshaa Mines (OLDM) general manager, Mr Mogakolodi Maoketsa.

Addressing Boteti District councillors during a council session in Letlhakane last week, Mr Maoketsa said due to weak economic growth in major markets such as China and the United States of America, there were no diamond purchases in the last two sight sales of 2023.

He also said a weak US dollar contributed to the decline as well as the encroachment of lab-grown diamonds and India’s embargo on the importation of rough diamonds. He said Debswana responded by reducing production to conserve cash, rationalising capital projects and curbing non-mandatory expenditure.

He said the decline in diamond sales was temporary and that it would not lead to staff retrenchments.

He noted that Debswana’s profits decreased by 25 per cent during the same period and that government and De Beers as shareholders lost 53 per cent of their earnings due to the decline in sales.

Mr Maoketsa stated that their Debswana Beyond 2024 strategy was to diversify revenue streams through the establishment of supply services companies required by the mine.

He noted that the Citizen Economic Empowerment Programme (CEEP) objective was value chain development.

Debswana, he said, had already made steps in the right direction through the establishment of companies such as Sesiro Insurance company, Debswana Pension Fund and Naledi Mining Services.

He said their plan for 2024 was to relocate the contractor’s camp from the mining area and to expand Orapa airport in order to align it to required standards.

On other issues, he said OLDM had spent over P10 million on corporate social investment programmes on its zone of influence on food security, education, tourism, sports development and community development projects.

He noted that they approved a request to co-fund the construction of internal roads in the Boteti District in 2023 and that P12 million was made available to fund roads in Letlhakane and Rakops. ENDS