[3] The mines Debswana owns and operates are: Debswana was formed as the De Beers Botswana Mining Company on the 23rd of June 1968,[4] after De Beers geologists identified diamond-bearing deposits at Orapa in the 1960s.
The four mines have contributed significantly to Botswana’s socio-economic growth through diamond revenue, transforming the country from an agriculturally based economy in the 1960s to a country that has consistently displayed one of the highest economic growth rates in the world.
Under the terms of a 2025 signed agreement, Botswana will see its share of diamonds from Debswana grow from 25% to 50%.
[9] Largely because of this, Botswana is considered by two major investment services to be the safest credit risk in Africa.
Since the mid-eighties, Survival International has published reports that the Botswana government has conducted a campaign of harassment to drive them out and give way to mining exploration.
[10] According to Stephen Corry, Director of Survival International, the Bushmen are not backward or primitive, and their human and cultural rights must be respected.