Debswana maintains that the current decline in rough diamond prices is temporary, despite several analysts, including Moody’s, warning this week that diamond miners would likely have to cut prices further this year in order to lift demand. In an agreement entered into on January 5, 2016 between the miner and Botswana Mine Workers Union (BMWU) the parties are of the view that "the long term prospects for the diamond industry and for Debswana in particular, are good and that the current situation is temporary". Notwithstanding the optimism, the company – the largest producer of rough diamonds by value – concedes that "it is not clear when the market will recover". Hence, measures taken to mitigate the situation including the suspension of operations at Damtshaa and reduction of production at Orapa mine took into cognizance the temporary nature. Around 242 Damtshaa employees are currently being redeployed to other sectors of the business after management committed to take all practical and reasonable steps to avoid job losses, conserve cash and ensure upturn readiness. Before the agreement was concluded negotiations were suspended for 10 days to allow for cooling off period after the union registered a dispute when management indicated that some workers…