Africa-Press – Botswana. The demand for industrial diamonds in various manufacturing sectors is expected to boost the sales of such diamonds in the near future.
With the drive to industrialization taking centre stage across the world, the demand for industrial diamonds from industries like car manufacturing and medical devices has led to a market growth for industrial diamonds.
Deliberating during the local manufacturing summit, Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) managing director, Mr Mmetla Masire emphasised the need for local manufacturers to tap into the industrial diamonds value chain beneficiation.
Mr Masire said the global industrial diamond market attained a value of P26.8 billion ($2.06 billion) in 2022, adding that the industry was further expected to grow in the forecast period of 2023-2028 at 3.2 per cent to reach P32 billion ($2.46 billion) by 2028 due to speedy development in the construction and automotive industries.
He said the industrial diamonds seemed to be overlooked compared to gem diamonds, a narrative he added needed to be changed.
“When many people think of diamonds, they think of sparkly gemstones used for engagement rings, but the truth is, only about 20 per cent of diamonds are of “gem quality” and suitable for jewellery.
The remaining 80 per cent of mined diamonds, known as bort are sold for industrial applications,” he said.
With regard to developing linkages with the rest of the economy, as is the case with many raw materials, Mr Masire said the greatest opportunities including developing new industries, was dependent on going up the value chain.
To that end, he said, the industrial diamonds sector, thus presented many value chain benefits that local manufacturers and entrepreneurs could venture into.
He said it was worth noting that the operational costs in the industrial diamond sectors were lower hence there were positive prospects in that sector with one local company already in the diamond power export market.
Mr Masire indicated that Botswana’s diamond cutting and polishing industry had experienced significant growth over the past few years.
He said the state owned ODC supplied the diamond industry with over P16 billion (US$1.2 billion) worth of rough diamonds in 2022 compared to over P12.9 billion (US$963million) in 2021.
Polished diamonds sales, he said, remained robust and the positive supply and demand conditions continued to support polished price growth.
Contributing to the discussion on diamonds manufacturing and value addition, HB Antwerp Botswana communication director, Mr Omogolo Mathumo highlighted the importance of data democratization in the manufacturing sector.
Mr Mathumo said HP Antwerp Botswana was keen to contribute significantly in the enhancement of the diamond value chain in Botswana.
For More News And Analysis About Botswana Follow Africa-Press
