Gaborone — President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama says diamonds alone cannot carry Botswana forward.
Delivering his 2014 State-of-the Nation Address on Thursday, November 13, President Khama said to achieve greater economic diversification, the country should continue promoting further beneficiation within the minerals sector.
He said growing global demand for gem diamonds had dovetailed with upward estimates of domestic production based on both the ongoing and anticipated opening of new mines and an extension in the life spans of existing mines through new recovery methods.
Together, he said these developments should ensure that “we will remain a leading global producer over the next three decades until at least 2050.”
With the successful migration of the De Beers Global Sight-holder Sales from London to Gaborone, which was completed ahead of schedule, he said Botswana was already realising its goal of becoming a global ‘mines to market’ hub in the case of diamonds.
To date, he said ten sight-holder sales had been successfully held in Botswana, after the first round of local Diamond Trading Company (DTC) sales that took place in November 2013.
He said included in the DTC turnover had been diamonds supplied to local industry, which strengthened the country’s diamond cutting and polishing industry employing 3,781 as of July 2014.
In addition, President Khama said the Government-owned Okavango Diamond Company had also successfully conducted eight tenders to date, which attracted over 400 customers from all over the world, whilst Boteti Mining Company (Karowe Mine) had also been conducting sales.
Furthermore, to better manage the emerging opportunities for beneficiation, as well as expanded mining of iron ore, copper, nickel and silver, coal and coal bed methane, he said the government had established a state owned Mineral Development Company
At the same time, he said government had also worked to maintain Botswana’s status as a welcoming environment for international investors.
Botswana, he said was ranked first in Africa and 25th in the world in the 2014 Fraser Institute Mining Policy Perception Index, which annually assesses the competitiveness of global mining jurisdictions, whilst for diamond industry investment the country was rated first in the world.
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