The World’s Largest Diamond Mining River

The Jwaneng river in Botswana is nicknamed “the world’s largest diamond mining river”. It is also Botswana’s largest gold mining area.

According to statistics, Jwaneng produces an average of 12.5 million carats of diamonds annually, accounting for 1/3 of the world’s diamond production. It also has the largest diamond reserves, estimated at about 298 million carats.

Jwaneng is mined by Debswana, a joint venture between the Botswanan government and the diamond mining company De Beers. The Jwaneng mine was discovered in 1972 by geologists.

The diamond mining process at Jwaneng:

Using heavy equipment to dig deep into the ground to the kimberlite rock layer containing diamonds.
Crushing kimberlite rock to separate diamonds from other minerals using crushing and screening machines.
Employing advanced technology to identify and categorize diamonds based on characteristics like color, size, shape.
Not just diamonds, the Jwaneng mine also produces 120,000 ounces of gold annually, equivalent to about 3.7 tons of gold worth billions of USD. It is one of the largest and richest gold mines in Africa.

Thanks to the exploitation of its rich diamond and gold mines, Botswana has become one of the most developed economies in Africa. However, mining has also negatively impacted the environment through pollution and resource depletion. The Botswanan government is working to find more sustainable mining practices to protect the environment.