By: African mining market

Botswana’s new president wants to boost his country’s flagging economy by cutting and polishing all the rough diamonds it produces.

Duma Boko told a public assembly in Ramotswa, in the southeast of the country: “No diamond will leave this country raw, all will be cut and polished here.”

It’s part of a broader policy aimed at processing all Botswana’s mineral resources, primarily diamonds, copper and nickel, prior to export.

“We are moving to a point where no mineral will leave this country without being processed,” he said.

“We will bring the laws required to make this happen, and when we do, nothing will stand in our way. We are going there.”

Botswana currently cuts and polishes an estimated 10% of its rough diamond production.

It relies on diamonds for 80% of its export revenue and 30% of its GDP. But sales by Debswana, the joint venture between its government and De Beers, fell by more than half last year.

The economy shrank by 3.1%, the country’s credit rating has been downgraded and its budget deficit has widened to 9% of GDP, the highest since the pandemic. Foreign reserves have almost been wiped out.

The government recognises the need to expand to reduce its reliance on diamonds, as well as to maximise the value it derives from them.