DRC wants to become diamond hub, says diplomat

Andrew Topf | September 4, 2011 | 9:28 pm Africa Europe Diamond

The DRC’s Ambassador to Belgium says the country wants to ramp up diamond production and become a “continental hub” for the precious stones.

In an interview with Rapaport Magazine, Henry Mova said the country could become an entrepot for Africa-sourced diamonds. His comments were made following the graduation of 15 Congolese citizens from the International Gemological Institute’s (IGI) School of Gemology in Antwerp. An excerpt of the interview appears below:

RM: During the IGI graduation ceremony, you said that it was time for the diamond world’s gravity center to move to the Congo. Do you think that is realistic in terms of production, since other countries such as Botswana and South Africa would come before the Congo, don’t you agree?

HM: Indeed, due to its geo-strategic position at the heart of Africa, DRC is in the middle of the diamond export channels and belongs to the same economic region as such big producers as Angola, Botswana and South Africa. The country could become the continental hub for the diamonds originating in Johannesburg, Luanda, Gaborone or Freetown, to name only a few. To establish such a hub, a strategic win-win partnership within the framework of the Belgian-Congolese relationship could be established with Antwerp.

The DRC is the sixth largest producer of diamonds behind No. 1-ranked Botswana and followed in descending order by Russia, Australia, Canada and South Africa according to 2009 figures provided by Geology.com. The country produced 5.2 million carats that year, compared to Botswana’s 32 million.

The DRC’s only functioning diamond mine is Miniere de Bakwange (MIBA), a joint venture between Belgian company Sibeka and the DRC government which owns 80%, according to MBendi Information Services. De Beers holds a 20% stake in Sibeka and markets about a third of the country’s diamonds.

The DRC was readmitted to the Kimberley Process, which certifies production of rough diamonds to ensure they are mined ethically, in 2007, but according to MBendi about a third of DRC diamonds are smuggled out.

Some 70,000 artisinal miners are estimated to operate in the DRC, encouraged by law passed in 1981 that forced MIBA to open up the majority of its yields to artisinal diggers, according to the World Diamond Council.