Analysts at Wood Mackenzie estimate an additional 360 million tonnes of aluminum, 90 million tonnes of copper and 30 million tonnes of nickel will be needed over the next 20 years.
Supercycle bulls will argue that this is just a temporary soft spot before green infrastructure stimulus starts building momentum in Europe and the United States.
China, the world's biggest importer of most major commodities, has already made several attempts to stall a surge in prices for everything from iron ore to coal.
The African nation's heavy reliance on diamonds, which account for a fifth of the Botswana's GDP and more than two thirds of its foreign exchange income.