Synthetic diamonds a threat to Namibia - Alweendo
Mines minister Tom Alweendo says competition from synthetic diamonds will place increased pressure on diamond-producing countries to compete for market share.
He made the comments at the appointment of new members of the Diamond Board of Namibia yesterday, and urged the board to assist government in crafting policies designed to help Namibia compete against the flood of synthetic diamonds.
“If synthetic diamonds start to capture the market that we as natural diamond-producing countries sell to, it then means that we are going to lose that market. The challenge would then be how we deal with this,” he said.
Government can do little to stop manufacturers of synthetic diamonds as they are recognised, legal products, he added.
“You can’t prevent people from investing. You can’t stop them, it’s a product, and they did create a market. Those who want to invest in synthetic diamonds, they will do it, and it’s a legal product,” Alweendo said.
Distinction
The only protection natural diamond producers have is to ask that there be a clear distinction between natural and synthetic diamonds, he added.
“The strategy so far has been to say, since we cannot stop the production of the synthetic diamonds, the only [thing] you can do [is to] insist that those who are producing lab diamonds should not be allowed to sell them as natural diamonds, because they are not natural diamonds."
“As long as you can have that distinction... When I am going to buy a diamond, I know when I am buying a natural diamond and I know when I am buying a synthetic diamond. And synthetic diamonds, the production of that is lower so they will be cheaper,” Alweendo said.
De Beers agreement
Meanwhile, Alweendo highlighted that Namibia will look at how it can improve its gains from its agreement with De Beers.
“With every renewal, you always look back at what has happened, what are the lessons that were learnt and, obviously, what we can improve.”
The Namibian government in 2016 signed a 10-year contract for the sorting, valuing and sale of Namdeb Holdings’ diamonds. The agreement is the longest ever signed between the two parties.
Namibia has since seen a significant increase in rough diamonds made available for beneficiation, with N$7.86 billion in rough diamonds being offered annually to Namibia Diamond Trading Company customers.
As part of the agreement, all Namdeb Holdings’ special stones were also to be made available for sale in Namibia.
He made the comments at the appointment of new members of the Diamond Board of Namibia yesterday, and urged the board to assist government in crafting policies designed to help Namibia compete against the flood of synthetic diamonds.
“If synthetic diamonds start to capture the market that we as natural diamond-producing countries sell to, it then means that we are going to lose that market. The challenge would then be how we deal with this,” he said.
Government can do little to stop manufacturers of synthetic diamonds as they are recognised, legal products, he added.
“You can’t prevent people from investing. You can’t stop them, it’s a product, and they did create a market. Those who want to invest in synthetic diamonds, they will do it, and it’s a legal product,” Alweendo said.
Distinction
The only protection natural diamond producers have is to ask that there be a clear distinction between natural and synthetic diamonds, he added.
“The strategy so far has been to say, since we cannot stop the production of the synthetic diamonds, the only [thing] you can do [is to] insist that those who are producing lab diamonds should not be allowed to sell them as natural diamonds, because they are not natural diamonds."
“As long as you can have that distinction... When I am going to buy a diamond, I know when I am buying a natural diamond and I know when I am buying a synthetic diamond. And synthetic diamonds, the production of that is lower so they will be cheaper,” Alweendo said.
De Beers agreement
Meanwhile, Alweendo highlighted that Namibia will look at how it can improve its gains from its agreement with De Beers.
“With every renewal, you always look back at what has happened, what are the lessons that were learnt and, obviously, what we can improve.”
The Namibian government in 2016 signed a 10-year contract for the sorting, valuing and sale of Namdeb Holdings’ diamonds. The agreement is the longest ever signed between the two parties.
Namibia has since seen a significant increase in rough diamonds made available for beneficiation, with N$7.86 billion in rough diamonds being offered annually to Namibia Diamond Trading Company customers.
As part of the agreement, all Namdeb Holdings’ special stones were also to be made available for sale in Namibia.
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