Dubai Exchange Reports Strong Sales at First Zimbabwe Tender

(IDEX Online) – The Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) announced strong sales for the inaugural Zimbabwe diamond tender, held from March 23 to 30.

The tender featured rough diamonds from Anjin, Jinan, DTZ, DMC, Marange Resources, Mbada and Kusena and was facilitated by Global Diamond Tenders DMCC in cooperation with the DMCC.

All seven diamond mining companies operating in the Marange area of Zimbabwe participated in the tender which achieved an average price of $76 per carat which was a 5.4 percent higher than the average price per carat for goods sold recently at the second Antwerp sale which averaged $72 per carat, the DDE said in a statement. The highest price per carat was $5,000.

Zimbabwe’s Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Walter Chidhakwa, said the government earned $4.3 million in royalties from the total sales of $29.2 million.

DDE Chairman Peter Meeus said, “The DDE has and will continue to support African diamond markets by ensuring the appropriate infrastructure is available to facilitate the trade between producing and consuming nations.

“We are extremely pleased with the high prices that were reached and stand ready to assist the government of Zimbabwe in future initiatives.”