RAPAPORT... Rough diamond sales by Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) dropped 20 percent year on year to 1.02 million carats during the first five months of 2015, according to Reuters. Sales were valued at $193 million, the news agency noted
A spokesperson for ODC explained that rough diamond prices weakened in the fourth quarter due to softer polished prices. ODC is a Botswana state-owned company that currently receives 14 percent of rough diamonds produced by Debswana, the diamond-mining joint venture between De Beers and the government.
The remainder of Debswana production is sold by De Beers global sightholder sales in Gaborone.
ODC’s share of Debswana’s rough diamond output has been increasing 1 percent annually with the goal of reaching 15 percent in 2016, following an agreement signed by Botswana and De Beers in 2011.
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