De Beers and the Botswana Government agreed to extend their existing agreement for the sale of Debswana’s rough diamond production for a further six months, until the end of June 2022. The company cited the continuing logistical challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic during 2021 for the extension.
During the extension period, the two partners will continue to operate under the terms of the existing agreement, will provide further time to complete discussions regarding the contract renewal following the good progress made during 2021. De Beers commenced worldwide rough diamond aggregation in Gaborone in 2012, ending the nearly 80-year-old practice of mixing of like-for-like diamonds from De Beers’ global production in London.