London Stock Exchange-traded mining company Botswana Diamonds has announced a change of name and strategy. The company will now be known as Botswana Minerals and its core business will include: diamond mining, but also copper exploration. This decision is due to the desire to reduce risks due to the protracted downturn in the diamond market.
The name change was the result of careful strategic analysis. Specialists used modern artificial intelligence technologies to process the company’s huge array of geological data, which covers an area of 95 thousand square kilometers. Having studied the information, the neural network not only confirmed the prospects of diamond deposits, but also pointed to new, no less interesting directions.
The main discovery was eleven zones rich in copper. As a result, the company has already submitted applications and received eight exploration licenses this metal. Experts have now begun a two-phase work program to identify priority areas for drilling. Botswana Minerals notes that the new licenses have already attracted great interest from other market players.
Company chairman John Teeling explained that Botswana remains one of the best countries for exploration due to its political and economic stability. However, the diamond sector is now going through hard times and has lost its attractiveness for investors. The market is changing: synthetic stones are taking up more and more space in the budget segment, while large natural diamonds are still rare and highly valued. At the same time, Botswana is a key player in the market for such rare stones – the diamond industry brings the country a third of its income and three-quarters of its foreign exchange earnings.
Unlike diamonds, copper, according to the company’s management, has a very reliable future. Demand for it will only grow thanks to the global transition to green energy. Metal critical for the production of electric vehicles, wind turbines and other equipment. The United States and China are actively fighting for control of supply chains for copper needed for high-tech industries. Botswana, in turn, strives to become a new copper mining center and is creating all the conditions for this.
Thus, the rebranding reflects the company’s new ambitious strategy. Botswana Minerals will retain its diamond assets, but will make a serious bet on copper, diversifying its business in a country that is strategically important for global mining.
Source: MINING.COM
Image: Silva Pinto
