Kgolagano Banabotlhe spent more than two decades inside Botswana’s diamond mines — not as an observer, but as the executive responsible for the ore processing operations generating the majority of Debswana’s revenue.
His connection to natural diamonds runs deeper than most. Born in Botswana when diamonds were transforming a post-colonial economy into one of Africa’s fastest-growing, his education — from primary school through a Class I Honours Degree in Mineral Engineering at the University of Leeds and an Executive MBA from UCT’s Graduate School of Business — was funded directly by diamond revenues and Debswana sponsorship. He is, in the most literal sense, a product of what natural diamonds can build.
At Debswana — the joint venture between the Government of Botswana and De Beers Group that owns some of the world’s most significant diamond deposits — Kgolagano managed operating and capital budgets exceeding $100 million, led workforces of over 1,200 people, and drove measurable operational results: plant efficiency improvements of up to 30%, a 70% reduction in safety incidents, and benchmark-level sustainability performance across facets such as water usage, consumables usage, energy efficiency, environmental management and mine closure planning. He has chaired Jwaneng Mine’s Diamond Control Committee, not only driving ethics in the mining and processing of diamonds, but also making sure that Botswana diamonds do not end up in the wrong hands through theft.
He has stood inside the recovery plants at Jwaneng and Orapa. He has reviewed the process flow diagrams, optimised diamond recovery processes from crushing to recovery, and navigated the economics of an industry that determines whether children in Botswana have a future. He has coached and mentored many in the diamond industry ensuring fair representation of women and the disabled in mining.
At Timeless Finery, he writes about natural diamonds from the only vantage point the internet has never had: the mine floor. You can connect with him on Linkedin