Botswana Diamonds plc (BOD.L)

Exclusive-Botswana plans extra diamond sales route after De Beers deal

NAIROBI/LONDON (Reuters) -Botswana's state diamond company is planning to diversify how it sells precious stones to the market as it gears up to receive far more supply under a multi-year deal the country struck with producer De Beers in July. The Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) currently sells 25% of the gems produced by the Botswanan government's Debswana joint venture with Anglo American unit De Beers via an auction process. ODC's share of rough stones from Debswana will rise to 50% over the next decade due to Botswana's new deal with De Beers, but selling large volumes will be hard due to an uncertain economic outlook, and in the face of competition from laboratory-grown gems.