Editor’s Note
This dispatch from Botswana details the mounting pressure on the natural diamond industry, as synthetic alternatives reshape market dynamics and demand.
The rapid spread of synthetic diamonds is causing a decline in the price of natural diamonds. Announcements of mine closures are also occurring one after another, and the trend of reduced production of natural diamonds is expected to continue. Demand is being taken away by affordable synthetic diamonds, and except for some high-end items, the natural diamond market may continue to face severe conditions. (From Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, by Minako Sasago)
In Jwaneng, a town in southern Botswana that is home to one of the world’s largest diamond mines, rows of identical small, single-story houses stand. These are company housing for mine workers. While residents in work clothes can be seen here and there, vacant houses are conspicuous.
A 42-year-old man engaged in the work of digging rough stones at the mine received an early retirement offer notification in September last year. His monthly income is 3,000 pula (about 34,000 yen), and he has a regular employment contract until age 60 with free rent. If he retires, he must leave the company housing.
He says he digs the surface with a shovel from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day but has never once struck a rough stone.
He said with a grimace.
