Diamond sales at Botswana's Debswana hit record high in 2022

Lucara Diamond

31/01/2023 15:49

GABORONE, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Rough diamond sales by
Debswana Diamond Company reached record levels in 2022, data
showed on Tuesday, as Western buyers shunned Russian stones and
Botswana profited from steady global demand for diamond
jewellery.
    A joint venture between Anglo American  AAL.L  unit De Beers
and Botswana's government, Debswana sells 75% of its output to
De Beers with the balance taken up by the state-owned Okavango
Diamond Company.
    Sales of diamonds from Debswana stood at $4.588 billion in
2022 compared to $3.466 billion in 2021, the central bank data
showed.
        In Botswana's currency, Debswana's rough diamond sales
rose 48.3% to 56.544 billion pula, reflecting a stronger dollar
in the period.
  
    Debswana accounts for almost all diamonds produced in
Botswana, with Lucara's  LUC.TO  Karowe mine being the only
other operating diamond mine in the country.
    Botswana generates about 30% of its revenue and 70% of its
foreign exchange earnings from diamonds.
    Due to the strong performance of its diamonds, the country
recorded a 66% jump in mineral revenues in the first six months
of the fiscal year ending in March, leading to a 0.55% budget
surplus in the period, according to the ministry of finance.
    Finance Minister Peggy Serame is expected to update the
figures when she presents the 2023/24 budget on Monday.
 (Reporting by Brian Benza; Editing by Anait Miridzhanian and
Ben Dangerfield)
 ((Anait.Miridzhanian@thomsonreuters.com;))