Botswana Diamond Facilities Facing Cutbacks

Mining Weekly reported that two diamond cutting and polishing factories in Botswana have closed down. More than half of such facilities in the country have had to “retrench and downsize.”

As quoted in the market news:

Speaking at the thirteenth Botswana Resource Sector Conference here, Botswana Diamond Hub executive Mmetla Masire said that most of the factories were driving defensive strategies of liquidation, downsizing and retrenchment.

Owing to the price margin between rough diamonds and polished diamonds narrowing, some sightholders were also failing to collect their parcels from their boxes.

In such instances, Botswana’s diamond beneficiation hub had been left with a larger diamond inventory than anticipated.

Masire commented:

We’ve had a situation where the margin has diminished and it has become very tough for cutters and polishers to make any money.

It’s not us and them anymore because we’re in this together.

Click here to read the full Mining Weekly report.