Description Gem Diamonds digs things that sparkle. The diamond mining company has operations in Africa, including Botswana, Lesotho, and Angola, as well as Australia, and Indonesia. It also owns Gope Exploration Company with mines in Botswana. Gem Diamonds was finally granted a license for the Gope prospect in 2011 and will begin operations there in 2013. The company focuses on the upper end of the diamond market with its stones fetching about twice the world average per carat. Chairman and CEO Clifford Elphick spent 20 years in the inner sanctum at De Beers, the world's largest diamond company, before establishing Gem Diamonds in 2005 with backing from JP Morgan and others.