Botswana will soon expand from a diamond producer to a center of the global diamond trade, the country's Minister of Minerals, Energy, and Water Resources Dr. Ponatshego Kedikilwe said Monday as ground was broken for Laurelton Diamonds Botswana's new diamond processing factory.



Laurelton's new plant occupies 3,000 square meters and is expected to employ 240 local residents during construction and 300 once complete.



Mmegi.bw, a local website, quoted Kedikilwe saying that in addition to the 16 licensed cutting and polishing businesses operating at the diamond technology park, the local diamond industry was planning to add diamond jewelry manufacturing and other related services.



In August, the minister traveled to Europe to look into possibilities for future cooperation between Botswana and the Antwerp World Centre. Kedikilwe praised Botswana's diamond industry for coming through the recent financial crisis, which saw its diamond production cut by nearly half.



In other news from Botswana, 95% of employees at the Diamond Trading Co. of Botswana (DTC) – jointly owned by the government and De Beers – went on strike Monday after wage negotiations failed, Bloomberg reports.



DTC Spokesman Kago Mmopi told Bloomberg that the company had put "mitigation plans" into effect with the goal of minimizing the effects of the strike.