Diamdel Opens Namibia Office

Diamdel has officially opened its Namibian office in a ceremony attended by Namibia’s president in Windhoek. A Namibian has been appointed manager and the goods sold by the Diamdel office will be directed towards clients capable of polishing rough locally.

De Beers Group Chairman Nicky Oppenheimer and Managing Director Gary Ralfe hosted President Hifikepunye Pohamba at the official opening of the offices of Diamdel Namibia, an event Diamdel called a seminal moment for the company.

The company appointed Paulus Shituna to manage the local branch. Shituna has been with the De Beers Group for 14 years and recently returned to the country following a period working within Diamdel Antwerp.

“We at Diamdel Namibia look forward to further drawing upon the considerable intellectual capital within the global Diamdel group towards assisting our locally-based clients in developing their businesses in the future,” Shituna said.

Ultimately, the company said, it is intended that Diamdel Namibia will play an instrumental role in helping to support the businesses of local visionary, innovative and financially sustainable diamantaires. In an effort to further Namibia’s “beneficiation objectives and requirements,” Diamdel said in a news release, “All goods will be directed towards those Diamdel clients capable of polishing rough within the country.”

Diamdel is a rough diamond company, part of the De Beers Group, and is mostly supplied by the DTC. It sells rough diamonds to the secondary market. The company has offices in Antwerp, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Shanghai, Tel Aviv and Windhoek.

The Hindustan Diamond Company (HDC) is also an associated member of the Diamdel network, however, it is a joint venture agreement between De Beers and the Government of India.

The firm’s sales last year were estimated at over $500 million.