Botswana’s Debswana Diamond Company is turning to international capital markets to secure funding for its $6 billion Jwaneng underground project, a company director announced on Monday.

Declining revenues have hindered the firm’s capacity to finance major capital initiatives internally.

Despite a global slump in the diamond market that began in the latter half of 2023, the company remains committed to extending the life of its flagship Jwaneng Mine until 2054 by transitioning it to an underground mining operation, managing director Andrew Motsomi stated at a mining conference in Gaborone.

Debswana reduced its diamond production by 27% in 2024 and announced last week that it plans to cut output further by 16% in 2025, targeting 15 million carats.

The company, jointly owned by the Botswana government and global diamond leader De Beers on a 50-50 basis, has historically relied on internally generated revenue or shareholder contributions to fund its capital projects.

Debswana is currently in the process of obtaining an international credit rating to facilitate access to global capital markets, Motsomi said. However, he did not disclose the specific amount of funding the company is aiming to raise.

“With revenues declining, the company is facing escalating capital requirements. Debswana expects an increase in capital expenditure from an average of 5 billion pula ($373 million) per annum for the past five years to 8 billion pula per annum over the next five-year period,” he stated.

With open-pit mining at the Jwaneng site projected to reach its economic limit by around 2034, Debswana launched the underground expansion project in May of last year, Reuters reports.

Furthermore, speaking at the same conference, Botswana’s Minister of Minerals and Energy, Bogolo Joy Kenewendo, expressed optimism about a rebound in diamond sales beginning in 2026, driven by significant structural changes and long-term strategic investments.

“Since January, we have begun to see positive signs in the market. While we are not yet where we want to be, the upward trend is encouraging and gives us hope for a more robust recovery in the latter half of the year,” she said.