{"id":27559,"date":"2023-05-25T11:40:21","date_gmt":"2023-05-25T11:40:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/botswana-hb-antwerp-deal-could-model-transparency-in-the-diamond-sector"},"modified":"2023-05-25T13:35:11","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T13:35:11","slug":"botswana-hb-antwerp-deal-could-model-transparency-in-the-diamond-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/botswana-hb-antwerp-deal-could-model-transparency-in-the-diamond-sector","title":{"rendered":"Botswana, HB Antwerp deal could \u2018model\u2019 transparency in the diamond sector"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. <\/strong><\/span>In 2017, a Mining Investment and Governance review report compiled by the World Bank highlighted Botswana\u2019s lack of disclosure on mining contracts singling out diamonds as one of the minerals whose business dealings are conducted under heavy secrecy.<\/b><\/p>\n

The report which was launched in the capital Gaborone called on Botswana to make details of its large mining contracts public. The report stated that such development will improve transparency in Botswana diamond dealings.<\/p>\n

The Botswana government negotiates the terms and conditions of these agreements including the percentage of ownership stake it will purchase. The said contracts are not published and even the Auditor General is not allowed to audit these agreements.<\/p>\n

In his presentation of the report, the then World Bank Group Consultant Nils Handler said that the Botswana government\u2019s decision to keep the negotiation process around contracts for diamond mining and large integrated projects confidential was a cause for concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lack of disclosure of diamond and integrated project contracts has affected the scoring of transparency and accountability in license allocation,\u201d reads part of the World Bank report.<\/p>\n

While the call for transparency was mainly made to diamond players that existed at the time, a relatively new player in the sector, HB Antwerp says it is in support of \u2018transparency\u2019 in diamond dealings. HB Antwerp is a Belgian gem processing firm and trader which recently opened its doors in Botswana.<\/p>\n

Rafael Papismedov, co-founder of HB Antwerp says the diamond trader has since simplified the traditional complex diamond supply chain to create a unique mineral infrastructure, using innovative technology and ensuring total transparency.<\/p>\n

He tells that before the arrival of HB Antwerp, \u201cthere was a notion that there should always be a winner and loser during diamond trading\u201d. The winner-loser scenario and setting, according to Papismedov, was due to lack of transparency in the diamond industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the very beginning we recognised that achieving the type of transparency needed to restore consumer confidence in the diamond industry and the product would require a new, ambitious strategy. Copy and paste of what the industry was doing was not going to be helpful. We knew that only by focusing on new innovation and traceability would we obtain the desired transparency,\u201d says Papismedov in a virtual call with the Press.<\/b><\/p>\n

He shares that following a two year trial partnership with local miner, Lucara, which has since turned into a ten year deal, HB Antwerp has made a huge step by joining forces with the Botswana government to re-invent the complete diamond value chain in African communities.<\/p>\n

Papismedov says through a new partnership with the Botswana government which will see HB Antwerp sourcing rough diamonds from state owned Okavango Diamond Company (ODC), the two partners seek to maximise the value that flows back into the mining communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t do things the old way. We are building a comprehensive, secure ecosystem igniting a paradigm shift in the diamond industry and emphasising transparency rather than mystique,\u201d says Papismedov.<\/p>\n

While he cannot immediately shed light on the value of the 24 percent stake that the Botswana government acquired in HB Botswana, Papismedov says further details on the deal will be made public in some weeks to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was an alignment of interest between HB Antwerp and the Botswana government. Botswana saw potential in HB to get more of its people working in the diamond industry,\u201d says Papismedov.<\/p>\n

Apart from Lucara, Botswana has various large-scale mining, sales and marketing contracts with Anglo American\u2019s diamond unit, De Beers. Through a joint venture, Debswana Mining Company, De Beers operates in Boteti region as well as Jwaneng where it mines the precious stones.<\/p>\n

Papismedov says his company currently does not have any relationship with De Beers and that while it has set its eyes on the rest of Africa, the current focus is in Botswana where the intention is to empower the locals \u2018transparently\u2019.<\/p>\n

Source: Sunday Standard<\/b><\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Botswana<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. In 2017, a Mining Investment and Governance review report compiled by the World Bank highlighted Botswana\u2019s lack of disclosure on mining contracts singling out diamonds as one of the minerals whose business dealings are conducted under heavy secrecy. The report which was launched in the capital Gaborone called on Botswana to make […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":27558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-27559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-botswana","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"\nBotswana, HB Antwerp deal could \u2018model\u2019 transparency in the diamond sector - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In 2017, a Mining Investment and Governance review report compiled by the World Bank highlighted Botswana\u2019s lack of d ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/botswana-hb-antwerp-deal-could-model-transparency-in-the-diamond-sector\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Botswana, HB Antwerp deal could \u2018model\u2019 transparency in the diamond sector\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In 2017, a Mining Investment and Governance review report compiled by the World Bank highlighted Botswana\u2019s lack of d ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/botswana-hb-antwerp-deal-could-model-transparency-in-the-diamond-sector\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Botswana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-05-25T11:40:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-25T13:35:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2023\/05\/sm_1684999739.958024.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1207\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/botswana-hb-antwerp-deal-could-model-transparency-in-the-diamond-sector#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/botswana-hb-antwerp-deal-could-model-transparency-in-the-diamond-sector\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Botswana, HB Antwerp deal could \u2018model\u2019 transparency in the diamond sector\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-25T11:40:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-25T13:35:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/botswana-hb-antwerp-deal-could-model-transparency-in-the-diamond-sector\"},\"wordCount\":672,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/botswana-hb-antwerp-deal-could-model-transparency-in-the-diamond-sector#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2023\/05\/sm_1684999739.958024.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Botswana\",\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"files\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/botswana-hb-antwerp-deal-could-model-transparency-in-the-diamond-sector#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/botswana-hb-antwerp-deal-could-model-transparency-in-the-diamond-sector\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/botswana-hb-antwerp-deal-could-model-transparency-in-the-diamond-sector\",\"name\":\"Botswana, HB Antwerp deal could \u2018model\u2019 transparency in the diamond sector - 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