The
Orapa diamond mine is the world's largest
diamond mine by area. The mine is located in
Orapa, a town in the Boteti Sub-District of
Botswana about west of the city of
Francistown. Orapa ("resting place for lions") is owned by
Debswana, a
partnership between the
De Beers company and the government of Botswana. It is the oldest of four mines operated by the company, having begun operations in July 1971.