Okavango Diamond Company, which belongs to the Botswana government and was established in 2011 to sell part of the country's rough diamond output, has begun a trial run of the sale of rough diamonds.



The establishment of Okavango was a part of the agreement between De Beers and Botswana in its 2010 diamond agreement.



Okavango will sell 12 percent of Debswana's production this year, rising to a maximum of 15 percent in 2016. The trial run aims to examine the company’s sales systems ahead of the launch of full, regular auctions in September.



The Botswana government pushed for the establishment of the independent sales channel in a bid to create more jobs in the domestic diamond sales and polishing sector and to build Botswana into a powerful diamond center.



Varda Shine, Executive Vice President of De Beers Global Sightholder Sales, told reporters in Tel Aviv this week that the transfer of the Diamond Trading Company's operations to Gaborone from London is expected to be completed in September to October. The first sight is due to take place in Gaborone in November.