Takatuf

English

Solutions

Botswanas Debswana curbs diamond production as weak demand persists

1 day ago

GABORONE Botswana Botswanas Debswana Diamond Company is temporarily pausing production at some of its mines cutting output in response to prolonged weakness in the global diamond market it said on Friday The global diamond market has experienced a downturn since the second half of 2023 which caused Debswana to cut production by 27 percent to 1793 million carats in 2024 Debswana which accounts for about 90 percent of Botswanas diamond sales reported a 46 percent drop in sales revenues last year The company a 5050 joint venture between Botswanas government and global giant De Beers now plans to reduce output to 15 million carats in 2025 it said in a statement Debswana Diamond Company continues to prudently navigate the challenging market conditions including sustained low demand across the diamond pipeline and emerging pressures such as USimposed tariffs it said Debswana is temporarily pausing production at Jwaneng Cut 9 and Orapa mines after suspending operations at its Letlhakane tailing plant and Jwaneng Modular plant in April The temporary stoppages are expected to deliver significant cost savings across fuel electricity and other production consumables Debswana added Longterm initiatives such as the Jwaneng underground project to convert Debswanas flagship open pit mine to an underground operation will continue but selected capital projects will be slowed down to save costs No job involuntary cuts are planned although the company continues to offer voluntary separation it added Botswana gets 30 percent of its revenue and 75 percent of its foreign currency earnings from diamonds and the current market downturn resulted in the economy contracting by 3 percent in 2024 The International Monetary Fund has forecast a further 04 percent contraction this year Reuters

Staff Reporter United States

Relevance news