Botswana pivots exploration budget away from diamonds

Botswana's government announced in February 2026 that it would redirect mineral exploration spending away from diamonds and toward critical minerals, arguing the country had for decades over-invested in the search for diamonds at the expense of other high-value resources.

Mines minister Bogolo Joy Kenewendo said plainly: "We were doing more exploration looking for diamonds than looking for other high-value minerals. And now we're going to change that." A newly created state-owned exploration company will lead the search for deposits across the roughly 70% of Botswana's territory that has never been properly surveyed, with an explicit focus on minerals seen as critical to advanced manufacturing and the energy transition.

A stockpile bigger than the rulebook allows

The policy shift came against the backdrop of an extraordinary build-up of unsold diamonds. Debswana, the 50-50 joint venture between the government and De Beers that controls around 90% of Botswana's diamond sales, was reported to be holding a stockpile of 12 million carats by December — nearly double the government's own permitted ceiling of 6.5 million carats. With so much inventory already sitting unsold, there was little rationale for the state to keep pouring exploration money into finding more diamonds rather than diversifying its resource base.

Copper and beyond

Botswana has increasingly promoted itself as an emerging copper-mining destination alongside its diamond heritage, and the exploration pivot is consistent with that broader diversification push. The United States was reported to have expressed preliminary interest in partnering with Botswana on exploration and mining initiatives, a sign that geopolitical competition for critical minerals was starting to shape investment interest even in a country still best known globally for diamonds.

Diamonds still dominant, for now

Despite the shift in exploration priorities, Botswana remained the world's leading diamond producer by value, and Debswana's output — while capped rather than expanded — was still central to government revenue. The exploration pivot was less a retreat from diamonds than an acknowledgment that, with a market this oversupplied, the country's next source of mineral wealth was more likely to come from an unexplored copper or critical-minerals deposit than from another diamond discovery.

Sources

• Miningmx: Botswana to focus on exploration as diamonds struggle, 10 Feb 2026

Photo: Office towers in Gaborone, Botswana, where the government announced a shift in mineral exploration priorities. Jota @ BRAZIL, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.