CNBC Africa has a puff piece about resources in Botswana, particularly mentioning diamonds:

Mostly boilerplate stuff of a story told many times before, but a good primer, none the less. Briefly discusses the effort for beneficiation of resources in-country.

Marange diamond miners, who have been engaged in open cast operations, last year said they had hit hard rock and that alluvial deposits were thinning out on their allocated concessions. They also said the deep seated conglomerate diamonds were not commercially viable. – See more at: http://www.zimeye.com/zimbabwe-runs-out-of-diamonds/#sthash.Whhzw6Fr.dpuf

This has been long predicted, but is this [finally] the end of the diamonds in Marange? If so, this was truly a national opportunity squandered. Will be interesting to see if the stones they haul out of the ground after the non-insignificant investment in equipment for kimberlite mining is economically viable.

via ZimEye

The Botswana-De Beers deal appears to be win/win. Botswana retains direct access to the world market for its diamonds while De Beers has long-term and uninterrupted access to one of the largest diamond supplies in the world. Over the long term, the De Beers move sets the stage for Botswana to emerge as a major participant in all aspects of the diamond industry, not just diamond mining. That’s good for the continued development of the country, already one of Africa’s success stories.

This article references how in 2013, De Beers moved their rough sorting and selling operation, Diamond Trading Company, from London to Gaborone.

Typically, rough diamonds have been hauled out of African countries and shipped to India, where they create an extraordinary amount of jobs in the cutting and polishing sector. Obviously if you’re an African country with ample diamonds but high unemployment, this might be the sort of thing that would anger you.

That sort of practice is, however, looking to change, by what is called beneficiation, which is where a country seeks to participate in the diamond pipeline beyond simply mining, but into diamond and jewelry manufacturing. This is one of the many good things going on in diamonds, but not without its challenges.

Personally, I see greater value in knowing that my fiancé’s center stone was cut and polished in either New York, Botswana, Namibia or South Africa. Why brand-name diamond manufacturers compete to consumers on minuscule differences in “the perfect cut” while glossing over more real differentiating features like this, I will never understand.

via Council on Foreign Relations

I’ve found this particularly fascinating. De Beers addresses changing consumer tastes, the rise of demand from China, safeguarding the supply chain from synthetics, pressure from banks on the middle stream, etc.

The next month or so will be particularly interesting as the Zim government will merge the firms mining in Marange from 7 down to 1 or 2. I have additional commentary on the Marange situation here, but every time I open see a Google News alert for Marange, I think “what now?” and the news never fails to surprise me. Here’s hoping the merger is a positive development, even if one of the firms most likely to remain is the one in which the Mugabes are closest to.

The Centre for Research and Development expresses concern at the process:

We stand here deeply concerned about the arbitrary decision taken by government to direct mineral companies to merge as a way for the state to centralise its over-site on the exploitation of the diamond rich Marange area. We believe that diamonds are a finite resource and the structure of ownership and control in Chiadzwa in its present and envisioned state demands speedy and wise reform. This is not only a prudent decision in giving closure to this perennial problem but it is overriding human rights imperative.

via Centre for Research and Development, Zimbabwe

Additional coverage on ZimEye

“The rough diamond course brings practical and relevant education to this gem producing region. By working with Ivorian officials and others in the industry, we can directly support artisanal miners and the development of the diamond sector as a whole. This is an essential step for a country that is now working hard to re-establish and grow the industry following its recent integration into the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme,” said Brad Brooks-Rubin, GIA’s global director of development and beneficiation.

A few months ago, I was given the incredible opportunity by Rob of JCK to join representatives from Signet, the U.S. State Department and The Clarity Project to talk about diamonds.

I had been reading Rob’s excellent writing for a while, and was honored at the invitation to offer a consumer’s perspective. I’m quite sure people in the audience looked on me as a naive idealist, and that’s fine: my conclusions may be faulty, but I still feel confident in saying that I’ve read a hell of a lot more than most consumers have on the subject, and had already been told by some pretty amazing people that I had clearly done my homework.

A particular analogy that was offered by industry representatives was that of a salt shaker and the grains of salt: “We can certify the contents of the entire salt shaker as being conflict-free, but we can’t provide the same level of assurances for each individual grain of salt”.

I found this analogy to be particularly irritating, and the reason for this is simple: for us consumers (the people that keep the entire industry afloat), those individual grains of salt are the entire salt shaker. Diamonds aren’t exactly cheap things, and I don’t like being told that the small fortune I’ve just handed over wasn’t enough to bring assurances of origins of the only stone I care about. Are assurances for every piece of melee or every 2,3-pointer (0.2-0.3 carats) that makes up the bulk of diamonds in the supply chain necessary? Of course not. But if it can be done for a Kimye-sized stone, it can be done for my center stone, too.

A court in Belgium is set to rule this week whether Zimbabwe diamonds which were due to be auctioned there, will be attached to compensate a group of Dutch farmers whose properties were seized by the government.

It is the second claim against the $45 million worth of diamonds. Last week, South Africa’s Amari Platinum lost its court bid to seize the same diamonds. They claim Zimbabwe owes it money for lost revenue over a cancelled mining contract.

The court case has revived hope among thousands of white farmers who await compensation as Zimbabwe continues to be haunted by its liabilities from its land reform programme.

This has been a very interesting case to watch. The issue revolves around whether diamonds from the Zim government can be seized while in Antwerp to compensate white farmers whose land was basically stolen from the Zim government.

This also reminds me of an interview in JCK with the WDC President, Edward Asscher who noted:

If not all the same centers use the same technological know-how, you will have false competition, and diamonds will go to the weakest point.

The danger is that if Antwerp is seen as a more vigilant transit point, supply chains could permanently reroute through Dubai. Given that Zim hasn’t had the best tenders in Antwerp, this could be more fuel to the fire.

via SABC

“Unless major new discoveries are made in the coming years, supply can be expected to decline gradually from 2020,” De Beers said, forecasting rocky times ahead for the US$85 billion a year industry.

Existing mines in Botswana, South Africa and Namibia are becoming depleted and the need to dig deeper has made operations less profitable.

De Beers said exploration has now turned to Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Arctic Siberia and Canada.

via MalayMail

HARARE – About $45 million in diamond revenue was on Friday seized by a South African company in Belgium after it had been granted an interim order against President Robert Mugabe’s cash-strapped government over a cancelled platinum concession, the Daily News can reveal. – See more at: http://nehandaradio.com/2014/09/16/45m-zimbabwe-govt-cash-seized/#sthash.ggx9xEiN.dpuf

via Nehanda Radio