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De Beers and Botswana finally sign the deal on sales, mining licenses

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De Beers and the Botswana government announced they had finally signed the long-delayed agreements on sales, mining licenses and a package of measures to boost the country’s economy. The agreement is key to Botswana’s economy – representing around 80 per cent of all exports – and to De Beers, which relies on the country for 70 per cent its diamond supply.As widely expected, the agreement grants mining licenses to Debswana – the 50/50 joint venture between De Beers and Botswana – until July 2054.

The old agreement expired in 2021. Negotiations to renew it began back in 2018 but Covid and a series of other delays led to it being extended instead.Both sides reached a provisional agreement in June 2023 and signed an outline agreement – or head of terms – in October.But the previous government, under President Mokgweetsi Masisi, failed to actually finalize the deal. It then lost the general election last November, in a major upset, and it was left to his successor, Duma Boko get the deal across the line.

It also increases the share of Debswana’s rough production that goes to Okavango, the government’s rough diamond sales company.Okavango, which currently sells 25 per cent, will will sell 30 per cent for the first five years and 40 per cent for the second five years. There is provision for a 50/50 split if the agreement is extended by a further five years In addition, De Beers agrees to an upfront investment of around $75m in a Diamonds for Development Fund, plus further contributions  based on Debswana’s performance.

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DiamondBuzz

De Beers Group Sets Out Portfolio and Organisational Actions to Support Long-Term Value Creation

Company outlines strategic cost optimisation, portfolio streamlining and operational changes to strengthen resilience while positioning for long-term growth in the natural diamond industry.

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De Beers Group is advancing delivery of its business streamlining by setting out a number of planned portfolio and organisational changes to ensure an efficient cost base that strengthens resilience in the near-term while enhancing future competitiveness and retaining optionality as industry conditions improve.

Since 2024, De Beers has been streamlining its business in line with its Origins strategy to reduce costs, divest non-core assets and prioritise investment in activities that create the most value. Significant progress has been made, with more than $100 million of annual overhead costs removed from the business, the sale or closure of a number of non-core assets and significant capital and cost reconfigurations to asset expansion projects.

Simultaneously, De Beers has reinvested in natural diamond category marketing to support the industry’s efforts to grow natural diamond demand, launching new large-scale campaigns and collaborating with key stakeholders across the value chain to foster industry-wide investment. Global consumer demand for natural diamond jewellery returned to growth in 2025, while natural diamond sales increased across US independent jewellers in 2025 and into Q1 2026, led by higher value diamonds and those promoted by De Beers’ Desert Diamonds marketing campaign.

On the supply side, global rough diamond production is now decreasing, with several producers closing mines during 2026. Whilst the increasing rarity of diamonds and the emerging signs of improvement in consumer demand are likely to support longer-term value creation, rough diamond trading conditions are expected to remain challenging in the near-term due to cyclical and industry-specific factors.

Consistent with recent actions to improve business resilience, De Beers intends to pause production at the Venetia mine in South Africa for two years to reduce costs while also rephasing capital expenditure on its underground project. This will involve critical infrastructure investment to enhance the capacity and efficiency of the mine, with the intention to support future production growth as business and industry conditions improve.

De Beers is engaging with stakeholders in accordance with relevant requirements and the company’s values as it moves through this process, and will both support impacted employees and continue to invest in its community and Social and Labour Plan commitments.

This proposed action at Venetia Mine follows the decision earlier this year to pause the Tuzo Phase 3 expansion project at the Gahcho Kué Mine in Canada.

In parallel, De Beers plans to reconfigure its global operating model to refocus and prioritise resources on the core operational businesses and reduce its central corporate cost base.

Al Cook, CEO of De Beers Group, said:

“In line with our commitment to focus and streamline our business, we are making a number of changes to De Beers to ensure greater business resilience in the near-term, while supporting long-term value creation. We recognise the protracted challenging conditions as the diamond industry evolves, though we are encouraged by signs of consumer demand growth in the US and beyond, particularly in higher quality diamonds.

Global rough diamond supply is falling, bringing more support to the market. The changes we are making to our business are focused on underpinning our efficiency now and into the future, favourably positioning De Beers in its leadership role.”

De Beers Group will maintain current production levels through its other operations, and previous production guidance remains unchanged.

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JewelBuzz is Asia’s First Digital Jewellery Media & India’s No.1 B2B Jewellery Magazine, published by AM Media House. Since 2016, we’ve been the trusted source for jewellery news, market trends, trade insights, exhibitions, podcasts, and brand stories, connecting jewellers, retailers, and industry professionals worldwide.

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