De Beers said there were signs of a pick up in US diamond demand before Christmas, while India has overtaken China to become the second-biggest market.

De Beers has finalised talks on a rough diamond sales deal with the Botswana government and on extending mining licences for its joint venture there to 2054, the Anglo American unit said on Monday.

Under terms of new agreement, Botswana’s government will be allowed to sell 30% of rough diamonds mined through joint mining venture with De Beers

Diamond mining giant De Beers Group has completed negotiations with the Government of Botswana to establish a new ten-year sales agreement for Debswana’s rough diamond production until 2033. The agreement also includes a 25-year extension of Debswana’s mining licences to 2054.

Government and De Beers have finalised their long-drawn-out talks for a new sales agreement and are due to formally sign the new deal later this month, the two sides confirmed yesterday.

After five years of negotiations, Botswana and De Beers have reached a groundbreaking agreement that will revolutionise diamond marketing and establish the first-ever joint diamond market company. The deal includes a R1.

Botswana’s president Duma Boko, who swept to power in October elections, said his government has reached a diamond extraction and sales agreement with De Beers that will bring certainty to the gem-dependent economy.

GABORONE, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Botswana announced on Monday that it has reached an agreement with De Beers, the world's leading diamond company, to extract and sell diamonds, bringing confidence to the country's diamond-dependent economy.

Miner Anglo American's diamond unit De Beers said on Monday it had finalised negotiations with the Botswana government for a new rough diamond sales agreement and extended mining licences for its joint venture beyond 2029.