The Antwerp World Diamond Center (AWDC) said that the adjusted average price of diamonds mined in Marange, which were sold at the February auction in Antwerp, is $ 79.94 per carat.
Earlier, the government of Zimbabwe claimed that at the end of this tender, the average price per carat of diamonds was $ 72, while at an auction in Dubai, raw materials were sold at an average of $ 76 per carat.
The CEO of AWDC reported in an interview with Rough & Polished (the full text of which will be published shortly) that despite the high prices, it should be taken into account that not all diamonds sold in Antwerp have been cleaned and sorted in the best way.
He noted that one company put diamonds of very poor quality for sale, which do not represent a representative sample of its products.
At the same time, the diamonds sold at the tender in Dubai have undergone optimal cleaning and have been selected in accordance with the production profile of the extractive companies, Epstein noted.
However, according to him, AWDC is pleased that the two Antwerp tenders allowed Zimbabwean companies to gain valuable experience and knowledge on how to optimize revenues from mined minerals.
"The prices of diamonds recorded in the Antwerp tenders are 60% higher than the prices at which the Zimbabwean stones were sold to Dubai and India over the past four years," Epstein said.