KAn agreement to double treatment capacity at the Orapa diamond mine in Botswana has been reached by DeBeers Centenary, the government of Botswana and diamond producer Debswana.
The US$290-million initiative, which includes a new plant and modifications to the old plant, will boost Orapa’s treatment capacity to 17 million tons per year, and increase annual production by 6 million carats, starting in 2000.
The expansion project will also create up to 2,000 jobs during construction and 300 upon startup.
The Orapa kimberlite, discovered in 1967, became Botswana’s first diamond mine and is now one of the lowest-cost producers in the world.
The agreement also renews Debswana’s lease of the Orapa mine until June 2017, though De Beers says the mine will continue to produce at the expanded treatment rate beyond that. Debswana, which is the world’s largest diamond producer in terms of the value of its production, is owned equally by DeBeers and the government of Botswana.
The partners have also agreed that Debswana’s diamond production will continue to be marketed through DeBeers’ Central Selling Organization for another five years.
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