By Catherine Sasman
WINDHOEK
The Namibian Diamond Trading Company (NDTC) is gearing up for its first sale of rough diamonds to joint ventures in localised cutting and polishing factories by October 28.
The body has received 18 applications from joint ventures, and plans to announce its clients by the first or second week of October, said Paulus Shituna, Sales and Marketing Manager of NDTC.
“The NDTC will select a few exclusive clients to whom it will sell diamonds for a period of three-and-a-half years,” said Shituna.
He could not say how many clients the NDTC would eventually select, but said the company would not be able to supply all applicants.
The NDTC was formed at the beginning of the year and is owned by De Beers’ owned Diamond Trading Company (DTC) International, and the Namibian Government in a 50/50 venture.
It is the sole agent selling Namdeb diamonds. Before its establishment, DTC International had an exclusive agreement to sell Namdeb diamonds.
The Namibian DTC will sell 10 percent of the total Namdeb diamond production per year to local cutting and polishing factories.
It is envisaged that a total sale of N$2.1 billion worth of diamonds will be made inside Namibia, which constitutes five percent of the Gross National Product of the country.
The NDTC will further sort and value in excess of two million carats in any one year.
Six cutting and polishing factories are already operational in Namibia and another three are being established.
But Shituna said there would be no preferential treatment for any of the applicants.
“The dilemma is that there is a limited diamond supply and the demand for rough diamonds is very high,” he said. “The selection process is transparent and the playing field level,” assured Shituna.
This, he said, goes for Namdeb’s cutting and polishing company, Namgem that was established in 1998.
Namgem has, for the purpose of the application to NDTC, signed a technical agreement with Lazare Kaplan International who is responsible for the submission of the application.
He said the selection criteria take into account the limited diamond supply to local factories, best practices and the support for local beneficiation, and the creation of a sustainable local diamond industry.
“The selection process pays attention to excellence in the various diamond categories, and to make it more objective, a series of agreed criteria has been adopted by the NDTC board and an ombudsperson – a retiree from Ireland – will scrutinise each application.”
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