Botswana Government and De Beers group sign diamond sale deal

Botswana signed a deal Tuesday with leading diamond producer De Beers that increases its share of sales to 30 percent and projects a possible 50 percent stake within a decade. The economy of the Southern African country, the world's second largest diamond producer after Russia, is dependent on sales of the stones which account for about 30 percent of its GDP and 80 percent of its exports.

The new agreement will increase the government share of sales of diamonds mined by its 50:50 venture with De Beers, called Debswana, to 30 percent over the next five years, De Beers said in a statement. The long-awaited agreement, which took around five years to finalize, also extended Debswana's mining licenses for 25 years from 2029.