De Beers and Botswana have agreed an agreement in principle that includes a new 10-year sales agreement as well as a 25-year extension of the company’s diamond mining licences, which expire in 2029.
The new agreement expands the quantity of diamonds that the state-owned Okavango Diamond business (ODC) can sell from Debswana, the mining business that De Beers and the Botswana government jointly own.
ODC can currently sell up to 25% of Debswana‘s output. According to the new framework, ODC‘s portion of Debswana‘s production will instantly climb to 30%, 40% in four years, and 50% by the contract’s last year in 2033.