News

August 21, 2008

On The Ground In Botswana With Firestone Diamonds And DiamonEx: Good Progress, But De Beers Casts A Long Shadow

By Martin Li

Through the blur of the propellers of the Hawker Beechcraft King Air light aeroplane, the vast expanse of Botswana’s green and brown plains stretches towards the horizon. Those green and brown plains might look empty and sparse from on high, but down on the ground, on certain lucky tenements, they host the mines that make Botswana one of the world’s leading powers in diamond mining. Aboard two nine-seater King Airs a group of analysts and media is traveling from Botswana’s capital Gaborone over to Tsabong, to pay Firestone Diamonds a visit. From there, the itinerary moves on to Lerala, for a visit to the mining operations and just-commissioned plant owned by emerging diamond producer DiamonEx.

But despite that exciting itinerary the main talk on the flight is of the very public squabble that has erupted between De Beers and its junior joint venture partner African Diamonds, over development of the AK-6 kimberlite, also in Botswana. In fact this spectacular falling out has really made some waves. On the final day of the recent Botswana Minerals Conference, it threatened to overshadow all else.

Leaving behind the bickering over AK-6 at last, our party arrives in due course at the...