Namibia is considering the possibility of establishing a company that will deal with the sale of rough diamonds outside the De Beers system.
Currently, all diamonds mined by Namdeb, a joint venture of the Namibian government and De Beers, are exported to Botswana for sorting, where they are mixed with the products of other De Beers enterprises around the world.
Only 10% of the Namdeb diamonds mined after that are returned to Namibia and sold to 12 local sightholders through Namibia Diamond Trading Company, a joint venture of the Namibian government and De Beers.
In 2013, Namdeb received 1.762 million carats of rough diamonds, representing about 6% of the total diamond output of all De Beers enterprises.
"Our diamond products are sold through a joint venture with De Beers, but we are considering the possibility of establishing a company through which we could conduct independent direct diamond sales to the market," said Isak Katali, Minister of Mining and Energy of Namibia, speaking on The World Diamond Congress in Antwerp, according to Rapaport.
According to Katali, the Namibian government is holding consultations and negotiations on the establishment of such a company.