
James Campbell
MD: Botswana Diamonds
‘A return to production at Ghaghoo is potentially possible, with an overall objective to target name plate capacity’
AN essential part of the DNA of any miner is optimism, and James Campbell has that in spades. Given the global diamond market and the abysmal track record of Gem Diamonds’ mothballed Ghaghoo mine in Botswana’s Central Kalahari desert, who in their right mind would dream of getting it back into production? Campbell does, despite failing in 2021 to buy Ghaghoo for the knock-down price of $4m. It seems funding partner Vast Resources chickened out at the last minute.
Campbell remains undaunted. He reckons there is a case to be made for combining Ghaghoo with some nearby exploration permits owned by Botswana Diamonds to form the core of a new diamond-producing area. But Ghaghoo is on the back burner while Campbell looks at more accessible prospects in South Africa around the former Marsfontein mine.
Campbell has kept a low profile over the past decade but he’s the technical brains behind Botswana Diamonds’ “front man” John Teeling, one of world mining’s serial entrepreneurs. The two executives are responsible for the major diamond strike at the AK6 kimberlite in Botswana, or Karowe as it’s now named – the highly successful mine operated by Lucara Diamond. Last year, Karowe produced a 2,492-carat stone – which is the largest found since the world-famous Cullinan Diamond in 1905.
LIFE OF JAMES
Like so many in the diamond mining world, Campbell is ex-De Beers, having worked for the group for 20 years before leaving to become MD of African Diamonds. He has a degree in mining and exploration geology from the Royal School of Mines and an MBA from Durham University. Outside of mining, Campbell has an interest in ballet. He was formerly the chair of both Joburg Ballet and the South African Ballet Theatre Trust.