Botswana’s new president promises to quickly sign a deal with De Beers to sell diamonds

Duma Boko, Botswana’s new president, said on Friday that he wanted to finish talks with De Beers for a new sales agreement as soon as possible.

Anglo American (AAL.L), which owns De Beers, and the government of Botswana agreed to a new diamond sales agreement last year. Over the next ten years, the government’s share of diamonds from the Debswana joint venture will slowly rise to 50%. Botswana and De Beers both own equal shares in Debswana Diamond Company. At the moment, 75% of its output is sold to De Beers.

The Botswana government and the country’s former president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, both spoke highly of the deal, but it has not yet been signed.

Masisi’s party lost badly in the election, and Boko took office on Friday. He said that De Beers had been “considering walking away, not signing at all… a very dangerous position to be in as a country.”

In a TV statement, he said, “The way the negotiations were handled could have hurt the relationship with De Beers.” “The first thing that needs to be done is to engage the other party.”

Boko also said that his new government wants to talk to De Beers to find out what worries it has.

“A proper negotiation involves compromise, where you get a bit of what you wanted, the other person gets a bit,” he stated. “Then … you have a durable, sustainable agreement.”

Someone from De Beers wrote in an email, “We will continue to work with Botswana’s Government in support of shared objectives, as we always have.”

Anglo American wants to sell De Beers as part of a larger plan to restructure its huge business. Masisi said in July that the Botswana government might buy more shares in De Beers than the 15% it already has.

Paul Zimnisky, an expert in the diamond mining business, said that Anglo American may find it easier to do things now that the election in Botswana is over.

“Diamonds by far represent the most important industry for Botswana, so this has to be one of the front and center issues for the (new) president,” he said. “I would expect to see progress on this front now.”

A drop in demand around the world has hurt the prices of diamonds and other expensive goods. A report released by Botswana’s central bank on Tuesday shows that sales of rough diamonds in Debswana dropped by about 52% in the first nine months of 2024.