SA New State Diamond Trader to Buy 10% of Local Production

In his state of the nation address to parliament on Friday, South African President Thabo Mbeki said South Africa will purchase 10 percent of locally mined diamonds to sell to local diamond polishers. A state-owned diamond trading company will be established with the help of De Beers for this purpose.

The news followed a joint statement earlier that day by De Beers and the South African Department of Minerals and Energy that De Beers Consolidated Mines’ Namaqualand mines and the west coast operations of state-run Alexcor will be amalgamated into a stand-alone diamond mining company.

De Beers will assist the new company free of charge with management, technical skills, and asset provision for a period of three years.

“This independent and empowered company will be well-positioned to capitalize on synergies that exist across both operations and will realize the full economic potential of the west coast diamond mining industry,” the statement said.