In response to a precipitous fall in the demand for diamonds in recent months, Debswana — the mining company jointly owned by De Beers and the Botswanan government — has closed the Orapa and Damtshaa mines in northern Botswana. Half of the landlocked, southern African nation’s finances come from diamond trading. Radio France Internationale (English Language) Feb. 24, 2009
Two Diamond Mines in Botswana Temporarily Close on Falling Demand
Gemstones/Gemstone jewelry, International, Suppliers
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Feb 242009
De Beers’ Biggest Fear — The Enormous Supply of Diamonds in Public Hands
Gemstones/Gemstone jewelry, Suppliers
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Feb 242009
Forget about the predictions of South African industry analysts that the price of rough-cut diamonds could fall another 60%. What keeps De Beers executives up at night are the more than 500 million carats of gem diamonds in public hands (or on them and in safety-deposit and jewelry boses). That’s more than 50 times the number of gem diamonds produced by the diamond cartel in a year. “The moment a significant portion of the public begins selling diamonds from this prodigious inventory, the cartel would be unable to sustain the price of diamonds, or maintain the illusion that they are such a rare stone that their value is, as the ad slogan claims, ‘forever.’” International Herald Tribune Feb. 23, 2009
