The fortunes of the diamond value chain would be better served through a simpler structure as opposed to the extremely complex approach currently used. Such an re-alignment will be the driving force for polished diamond value growth.
The Chief Executive of Forevermark and the De Beers Group, Stephen Lussier alluded to a simplification of the diamond value chain in his speech before the second International Diamond Conference, titled, Omugongo, held last week in Windhoek.
More than 50 international industry experts, academics, business leaders and manufacturers converged on Windhoek for this landmark two-day conference.
Their goal: to discuss challenges facing diamond beneficiation in Southern Africa on how to make this industry viable and sustainable.
The Diamond Commissioner of Namibia, Kennedy Hamutenya, expressed the national sentiment around Beneficiation: “We want to be part of the downstream business, we want to know what happens to the value of our diamonds”.
“The opportunity cost for us is the polishing and cutting diamonds elsewhere, losing a major chunk of share in the pipeline”, “We need the bulk of our Namibian diamonds to also work for us, to create job opportunities, to transfer skills, to transfer technology, to bring to Namibia more value adding, more foreign exchange revenue… ”
For the rest of this article, click here: http://allafrica.com/stories/201512041038.html