The discovery of diamonds is the foundation on which Botswana was built. Although the diamond industry is vulnerable to recession, diamond revenues have helped move the young new democracy of the 1960s from a poor, foreign-aid-dependent country to the prosperous and modern country it is today. For 40 years, Debswana has been selling all of its diamonds exclusively to De Beers, which in turn shipped the diamonds to London for aggregation and sale to its customers known as Sightholders. The 2011 sales contract guarantees De Beers long-term access to the world`s largest diamond supply and will make Botswana a leading diamond trading and production centre. If you are selling rough diamonds at Raw Gold and Diamond Co., LLC is known as RGDC, please fill out the form below and “click.” The diamond market landscape has changed rapidly in the years following the global economic downturn. The demand for diamonds is increasing and is beginning to outstrip supply. The emerging growth in China and India (China, India and the Gulf are expected to exceed the U.S. market share in just over three years), combined with significant new sources of supply on the horizon, means that the supply of rough diamonds is more valuable than ever. A $6 billion company moves to Botswana On August 14, 2012, the De Beers Group officially launched the global diamond aggregation in Gaborone two months earlier than planned. This milestone is part of the sales contract between De Beers and Botswana and marks the delivery of the first phase of the migration of De Beers` distribution activities to Botswana. The aggregation process, which involves mixing similar diamonds from De Beers` global production, is an integral part of De Beers` business. It provides a supply consistency for view-bearers so that they can plan their downstream activities and commit to long-term investment in producing countries such as Botswana. Until the launch of the aggregation in Botswana, the aggregation had taken place in London for almost 80 years.
The aggregation cements a solid benefactor base for Botswana. Aggregation is extremely important to the benefactor, as diamond aggregation creates a scale that reduces volatility and provides continuity for thieves. In September 2011, the Government of Botswana and De Beers announced a 10-year sales contract that would lead Beers to relocate its London-based diamond trading operations to Botswana by the end of 2013. The aggregation takes place in the new De Beers facility, built specifically in Botswana`s DTC building. Following the transfer of aggregation activities, De Beers relocated all DTC sites and distribution activities from London to Gaborone until the end of 2013 and transferred professionals, experience, equipment and technology to the country. At the end of 2013, more than 170 million P170 million were invested in the DTC Botswana building for modifications and extensions. Debswana will continue to sell 100% of its annual production to DTCB, which will sort and evaluate production. DTCB will sell most of this production to De Beers and the rest to a new government-appointed outlet, Okavango Diamond Company.