James Campbell

JAMES Campbell, who’s a balletomane, has performed an elegant pivot. While Botswana Diamonds continues to insist that demand for high-value diamonds is resilient, despite the invasion of cheaper, lab-grown diamonds, it has broadened its exploration activities into critical minerals. Chair John Teeling says the company is not abandoning its roots; it is leveraging them. It is using AI to scan the extensive database of Botswana’s geology that it has built up over years to identify both new kimberlites and potential deposits of minerals that align with the energy transition.

At the same time, the company is continuing to advance its two most promising diamond projects, KX36 in Botswana and Thorny River in South Africa. At Thorny River it was recently granted its first mining permit, but the current weak state of the diamond industry will delay commercial production. Over the past 10 years, according to the Zimnisky Global Rough Diamond Price Index, rough diamond prices in dollars have plummeted by over a fifth. The lack of market enthusiasm is reflected in Botswana Diamonds’ share price, which over two years has lost three-quarters of its value, making new equity raising difficult, if not impossible.

The immediate plan is to find a strategic partner with complementary capabilities, resources and vision to accelerate development of the polymetallic targets, Campbell says. While he admits that the company is “a contrarian play” at a time when the industry is at its darkest, “we see the dawn approaching”.