Botswana Lerala Diamond Mine shuts down – newspaper

Australia's Kimberley Diamonds has shut its Lerala Diamond Mine in Botswana citing weak market conditions, leaving 130 workers unemployed, a local newspaper reported Thursday. Botswana Mine Workers Union national organising coordinator, Abel Buka told Mmegi Newspaper that Kimberley had briefed workers in a letter that it was closing operations after failing to agree a funding deal with a Chinese financier.