BOTSWANA (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 – Places in News)

Context: The world's second-largest 2,492-carat diamond has been discovered in Botswana at a mine owned by Lucara Diamond, a Canadian firm.

Botswana:

• About: It is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 per cent of its territory being the Kalahari Desert.
• Capital: Gaborone.
• Border countries: It is bordered by South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, Zambia to the north and Zimbabwe to the northeast.

Diamond Industry:

• Top Natural Diamond Producers: Russia, Botswana, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and Congo (Zaire).
• Other Important Producers: Namibia, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Venezuela, Brazil, and more.
• World’s Largest Diamond: 3,106-carat – was found in South Africa in 1905, also known as the Cullinan Diamond.
• Diamond in India:

o India is the world's largest cutting and polishing centre for diamonds.

o It accounts for over 90% of polished diamond manufacturing globally.

o Distribution: 

ü Panna belt in Madhya Pradesh;

ü Wajrakarur Kimberlite pipe in Anantapur district and

ü Gravels of the Krishna river basin in Andhra Pradesh.

o Reserve Estimates: Reserves have been estimated mainly in the Panna belt and Krishna Gravels in Andhra Pradesh, with recent discoveries of kimberlite fields in Karnataka's Raichur-Gulbarga districts.