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Diamonds sector in strong rebound
• Recovery boosts the economic growth prospects • Debswana production level bounce back strongly • Mining sector overall performance also promising
STRIDES WRITER
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Mining data as released by Statistics Botswana (SB) the Index of Mining Production stood at 82.0 during the fourth quarter of 2021, showing a year-onyear increase of 28.1 percent from 64.0 recorded during the fourth quarter of 2020. Comparison on a quarter on-quarter basis shows a decrease of 19.6 percent, from the index of 101.9 realized during the third quarter of 2021. SB said diamond production increased by 24.2 percent (1, 038 thousand carats) from 4, 290 thousand carats during the fourth quarter of 2020 to 5, 329 thousand carats during the same quarter of 2021.
“The increase was a result of intensified production strategy aligned with the stronger trading conditions. The quarter-on-quarter analysis shows that the production registered a decrease of 18.0 percent (1,172 thousand carats) during the fourth quarter of 2021 compared with 6, 500 thousand carats during the third quarter of 2021,” said Statistics Botswana on diamonds sector.
With regards to cold mining, SB noted that Coal production increased by 9.3 percent (40, 099 tonnes), from 429, 382 tonnes during the fourth quarter of 2020, to 469, 481 tonnes in the current quarter.
According to SB, The increase came as a result of the efforts made to meet increased demand from both domestic and international markets, particularly that new markets have been identified. On the other hand, quarter-on-quarter comparison shows that coal production decreased by 14.5 percent (79, 746 tonnes) compared with 549, 227 tonnes during the third quarter of the current year.
Salt production also went up by 27.9 percent (31, 385 tonnes) to 143, 751 tonnes during the fourth quarter of 2021, from 112, 366 tonnes during the same quarter of the previous year.
“On the other hand, quarter-on-quarter analysis shows that salt production registered a decrease of 15.4 percent (26, 075 tonnes) compared with 169, 826 tonnes during Q3 quarter of 2021,” said SB.
The Botswana Ash (Pty) Ltd (BotAsh), is the only extractor of Soda Ash, via a 50/50 partnership between the Government of Botswana and Chlor Alkali Holdings (CAH) Group, a South African based company, which is also the management partner and Botash produce over 200 000 tons per year.
Meanwhile, Statistics Botswana said Coal production increased by 9.3 percent (40, 099 tonnes), from 429, 382 tonnes during the fourth quarter of 2020, to 469, 481 tonnes in the current quarter.
The increase came as a result of the efforts made to meet the increased demand from both domestic and international markets, particularly that new markets have also been identified. On the other hand, quarter-on-quarter comparison shows that coal production decreased by 14.5 percent (79, 746 tonnes) compared with 549, 227 tonnes during the third quarter of the current year.
Debswana output grows
The central bank, Bank of Botswana has disclosed its April 2022 Monetary Policy Report that diamond production during the first quarter of 2022 with Debswana leading the pack in the production capacity.
According to BoB report, Debswana produced 6.2 million carats of diamonds in first quarter of 2022.
Also, the central bank said looking ahead, Debswana production target for 2022 has been set at 23.6 million carats, while output guidance for the larger De Beers Group is at 30-33 million carats for 2022.