CHAMWE KAIRA
The De Beers Group has confirmed that the sales agreement between De Beers and the Government of the Republic of Namibia is valid until May 2026.
The Government of the Republic of Namibia and De Beers Group own equal shares (50:50) in Namdeb Holdings (Proprietary) Limited Holdings, under which Namdeb mining, Debmarine Namibia falls.
The government and De Beers also have equal (50:50) shares in the Namibia Diamond Trading Company (NDTC).
“At this stage we are not in a position to comment on the negotiations process or the associated timeline,” De Beers said in a response to questions from the Windhoek Observer.
The two went into a 10-year sales agreement for the sorting, valuing and sales in 2016.
The agreement provides for 15% of Namdeb Holdings’ run-of-mine production per annum to be made available to the government-owned independent sales company Namib Desert Diamonds Pty Ltd (Namdia).
The agreement between the two was formally established in 1994.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy has already started the process to prepare for the negotiations for a new sales agreement and increase the amount of diamonds in Namibia.
The ministry has said it is confident that the Namibian government will increase revenue from its current 15% share in the new sales agreement with De Beers.
The government of Botswana and De Beers Group announced the successful conclusion of negotiations focused on establishing a new sales agreement for Debswana’s rough diamond production, as well as extending Debswana’s mining licenses beyond 2029.
This development is in alignment with the heads of terms agreed on 30 September 2023.
Debswana, a 50:50 joint venture between the GRB and De Beers, operates several leading diamond mines in Botswana: Jwaneng, Orapa, Letlhakane, and Damtshaa.
Following the issuance of new mining licences by the appropriate regulatory authorities in Botswana and final governance approvals, both parties said they look forward to signing and executing the relevant agreements. Until the execution of these new agreements, the terms of the existing agreements will continue to remain in effect.
De Beers Group is the world’s leading diamond company with expertise in the exploration, mining, marketing and retailing of diamonds. Together with its joint venture partners, De Beers Group employs more than 20,000 people across the diamond pipeline and is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, with diamond mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa.
Debmarine Namibia, a joint venture between De Beers and Namibia, produced 1 859 000 carats in 2023. For the 2023 production year, Debmarine Namibia carried out diamond recovery in an area amounting to 20.8 km² against the original budget of 24.04 km² and 2.014 m carats, respectively.
In response to the softening of global diamond demand during 2023, the company adjusted its production output downwards in line with demand.
On the other hand, Namdeb, which is a land-based operation, produced 467 608 carats in 2023. Despite the softening demand and lower prices for diamonds registered in 2023, Namdeb recorded a remarkable production performance, which increased by 13.5% in 2023. The higher production was due to increased mining capacity and successful ramp-up of operations and improved asset reliability through the acquisition of new machinery and equipment.
