Beneficiation

It includes the process of sorting and valuing rough diamonds, their subsequent cutting and polishing, and the manufacture of diamond jewellery. It can also include the local marketing of polished diamonds.

The De Beers Family of Companies works to support diamond producing governments to meet their beneficiation objectives. Our activities include:

• The establishment of new joint venture companies, DTC Botswana and Namibia DTC respectively, to create the right environment for diamond cutters and polishers to set up operations in those countries
• The consolidation of DTC activity in South Africa in order to create a more efficient system for diamonds to be supplied to the local diamond manufacturing industry, and for more effective local marketing activity to be undertaken
• Local sales of rough diamonds from these offices to locally based cutting and polishing operations, providing the platform for diamond manufacturing industries to be maintained and/or developed
• Continued introduction to the southern African region of the latest, leading edge diamond-related technology, developed by the DTC’s Research and Development facility
• Skills development of citizen employees, in areas such as Key Account Management and operation and maintenance of the diamond-related technology, in order to ensure the necessary capabilities are entrenched
• Local marketing activity
• Stimulus for the development of jewellery design capabilities, through programmes such as the DTC Shining Light Diamond Design Awards in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia
• The potential for other value adding activities through the businesses of DTC client companies, and potentially in other sectors of the economy

The DTC’s southern African producing partner countries have broadly similar interests and objectives with regards to beneficiation. In each of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa there is an interest in creating employment opportunities, building more of a skills-based labour market and fostering the economic environment in which further foreign investment can be encouraged.

In Namibia, there is also a Government interest in creating a Namibian diamond brand. Namibia Diamond Trading Company will also work to assist in achieving this objective, through supplying some production direct from Namdeb to locally based cutters and polishers in Namibia.

In order to ensure a sustainable supply of the right type of economically cuttable goods to the country, there will, however, also be aggregated, or ‘blended', supply being provided to Namibian cutters and polishers through the Namibia DTC channel.