Botswana's Untold Story of the Kalahari Dust Bowl to a Mecca of Diamond Mining

The allure and sparkle/glitter of diamonds have driven mankind to great lengths to mine or harness them to engender economic wealth. Currently, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have their economies and social development dependent on diamond resources. Without diamond revenues or wealth, the countries would be poverty-stricken or impoverished. In this chapter, we highlight diamond processing from Botswana’s perspective within the realms of its diamond mining industry. Botswana’s diamond mining industry produces “conflict-free diamonds” and is devoid of the issues in some countries where diamond resources have become a “curse” as they have supported and fueled wars/conflicts. It would be clear at the end of this chapter that diamond processing in Botswana has some of the best technologies and practices that have helped generate revenues from diamond sales for economic and social development that has transformed the country from being one of the poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa in the 1960s into a middle high-income country. Hence our title for this chapter: Botswana's untold story of the Kalahari dust bowl to a mecca of diamond mining.