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Botswana Beneficiation Still Viable, Says Minister
Jul 24, 2016 7:19 AM
By Rapaport News
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 RAPAPORT... Diamond beneficiation is still a viable project in Botswana
even as global market conditions have slowed the nation’s trade, Kitso Mokaila, the Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water
Resources, assured parliament.
The downturn in the global diamond market hit local
manufacturing companies, some of whom were forced to close, Mokaila (pictured) was cited
by local newspaper Mmegi as saying. He added the number of diamond manufacturing
companies operating in Botswana has fallen to 19 factories employing just 2,000
people, according to the report.
De Beers supplies those companies with rough diamonds at its
periodic sights that take place in Gaborone. The ministry continues to engage with
concerned stakeholders to improve the operating environment, the minister stressed.
“Diamond sales were off to a good start this year,” he reported,
noting the first four sales of the year amounted to $343 million. In 2015,
rough supply to local manufacturing companies amounted to $502.2 million,
compared with $936.4 million in 2014, Mokaila said.
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Tags:
Botswana Beneficiation Kitso Mokaila, Manufacturing, Minister of Minerals Energy and Water Resources, Rapaport News, Rough Diamonds
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