In July 2007, the Namibian arm of Diamond Trading Company announced competitive selection among the country’s diamond cutting factories to be included into the first list of NDTC sightholders. At that time, Hard Stone Processing (Pty) Ltd (HSP) was already working in Namibia as an independent manufacturer and its factory successfully occupied a strong position among the leading sightholders turning into one of the three top diamond cutting companies in Namibia. Its CEO Burhan Seber gave this interview to Rough&Polished.
Botswana diamond miner, Debswana recently said that the temporary dip in diamond prices will likely see the company producing just below its target of 25 million carats for 2011. However, Esther Kanaimba-Senai, the Group’s Manager for Corporate and Public Affairs, told Rough&Polished in an interview that Debswana was not in trouble.
Malca-Amit is a full service courier company with a 21 year record of providing the highest quality personalised service and the most efficient logistic solutions for diamonds, jewelry, gold, coins, bank notes, and valuable documents. Our correspondent in Brussels caught up with Nigel Paxman, CEO of the Malca-Amit Group of Companies, to find out more about this company.Bank of Botswana say the country’s rough and polished diamond exports retreated by 56 percent to $126.1 million in July this year.
The data published by the central bank, however, shows that exports through the first seven months of the year went up by 31 percent to $1.54 billion.
Botswana’s diamond industry was hit last year by the global economic meltdown, which saw output declining by nearly half, totaling 17.7 million carats compared to 32.6 million carats in 2008.
The World Bank recently advised Botswana reduce its public sector by at least 25 percent to ensure fiscal sustainability as its revenue from diamonds, the country’s economic bastion, was expected to continue falling .
However, IMF indicated a week after the World Bank report that Botswana’s diamond industry was set to recover this year, therefore sending mixed signals.
Botswana Minerals, Energy, and Water Resources permanent secretary Gabaake Gabaake also told a mining conference in Perth last week that his country expected a significant improvement in its diamond production by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Polished Prices said an upward trend was recorded last week as diamond markets returned to full volumes after the summer slowdown.
The main PolishedPrices index ended the week 3.4 percent higher, opening at 126.9 points on Monday.
The index, it said, was now 11.1 percent above its starting level for the year, and was 10.5 percent above its level from this time last year.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Rough&Polished from Namibia
Rough&Polished
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