Debswana

Debswana Diamond Company Ltd, or simply Debswana, is a mining company located in Botswana, and is the world's leading producer of diamonds by value. Debswana is a joint venture between the government of Botswana and the South African diamond company De Beers; each party owns 50 percent of the company. Debswana operates four diamond mines in central Botswana, as well as a coal mine.

Mines

The mines owned and operated by Debswana are:

Diamond mines:
- Orapa diamond mine, opened in 1971
- Letlhakane diamond mine, opened in 1975
- Jwaneng diamond mine, opened in 1982
- Damtshaa diamond mine, opened in 2002
Coal mine:
- Morupule Colliery, opened in 1973

History

Debswana was formed as the De Beers Botswana Mining Company on June 23, 1969, after De Beers geologists identified diamond-bearing deposits at Orapa in the 1960s. Over the next five years, the government of Botswana increased its ownership stake from an original 15% to a full 50%. In 1991 the company changed names to Debswana Diamond Company Ltd and moved its headquarters to Gaborone.

Production

All diamond mining in Botswana is controlled by Debswana; there are no private diamond mining operations in the country. Combined production of the company's four mines totaled 30 million carats (6,000 kg), nearly a quarter of the world's annual production of around 130 million carats (26,000 kg). The high value per weight of diamonds mined by Debswana has made the company the leading producer of diamonds by value in the world.

Economic impact

Diamond mining activities have fueled much of the growth in Botswana's economy, allowing it to grow from one of the poorest countries in the world when it became independent in 1966 to a "middle income" nation, with $9,200 per capita income in 2004. Largely because of this, Botswana is considered by two major investment services to be the safest credit risk in Africa. Diamonds account for fully one third of the nation's GDP, over 90% of earnings from exports, and 50% of government revenues. Debswana is the largest non-government employer in Botswana, employing around 6,000 Batswana, and is also the largest earner of foreign currency.

References

CIA World Factbook, Botswana entry (2004)

External links

Debswana (Retrieved April 14, 2005)

Economy of Botswana | Diamond mining companies