The Diamond Trading Company Botswana (DTCB) has opened its diamond sorting facility in Botswana on Tuesday.
Already being the world’s largest producer of diamonds by value, the opening of new technology-driven facility establishes Botswana as the world leader in the sorting and valuation of rough diamonds, according to a joint statement issued by De Beers Group and Botswana President Festus G Mogae.
DTCB will sort and value all rough diamonds produced by Debswana, a 50:50 diamond mining joint venture between both partners. In addition to this, the vast majority of De Beers’ global production will be aggregated in Botswana by DTC International by 2009.
“Beneficiation, a strategy shared by the government of Botswana and De Beers, ensures that a portion of Botswana’s most important natural resource stays in the country longer, so that value can be added through local companies and local expertise,” the joint statement read.
DTCB is expected to sell $375 million of rough diamonds in 2008, and $550 million by 2009 to its 16 sightholders in the country each year. DTCB will be the largest and most sophisticated rough diamond sorting and valuing operation in the world, sorting and valuing in excess of 34 million carats a year of Debswana’s production, according to De Beers. The development and construction of the building was funded by De Beers at a cost of P471 million ($72 million). The new building has a total capacity to process 45 million carats per annum and to accommodate up to 600 employees.