De Beers and Namibia Sign Sales Agreement

De Beers and the Government of Namibia signed a new, six years, sales agreement. Included in the agreement is the establishment of a 50:50 joint venture that will be responsible for the valuing, sorting, selling, and marketing of Namdeb’s diamond production. Another element is the expected decision to develop a local diamond industry.

The agreement secures the sale of Namibia’s diamonds through the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) until 2013.

The new joint venture, Namibia Diamond Trading Company (NDTC), is envisaged to be the primary vehicle for the growth of the diamond manufacturing industry in Namibia the sides said in a release. “Working together with Namibian-based diamond manufacturers, NDTC will also support local marketing initiatives. The new agreement will ensure that up to N$2billion (US$300 million) worth of diamonds will be made available locally by 2009; representing close to 5% of Namibia’s GDP.”

The two said they are committed to the creation of a sustainable and flourishing downstream diamond industry. To this end, NDTC will sell rough diamonds to local cutting and polishing factories as well as export to DTC International.

The sales agreements between DTC International, NDTC, and Namdeb will next be reviewed on 31 December 2013.

The sides supplied some figures about the role diamonds play in the Namibian economy:

• Diamonds account for more than 40% of the country’s export revenue, 7% of the government revenue and approximately 10% of the country’s GDP
• Namibia produces approximately N$5 billion (US$700,000) worth of diamonds per year
• With almost 3,200 employees, Namdeb is Namibia’s largest employer, supporting more than 40,000
• Namdeb contributes approximately N$2 million (US$300,000) in corporate social development projects annually in Namibia, principally in the areas of education, small business, community development, and health, particularly in HIV/Aids prevention.