KP Chair to Host 3rd Special Forum on Rough Diamond Evaluation

(IDEX Online) – Kimberley Process (KP) Chair, Ahmed Bin Sulayem, will host a one-day ‘KP Chair Special Forum’ on rough diamonds which will take place in Dubai on November 13 together with the KP's Plenary Session from November 13 to 17.

The event will discuss key issues facing the industry with participants from 81 countries, as well as industry players from across the supply chain. The aim of the Forum is to try and bring about agreement between industry players and stakeholders on a generic set of valuation criteria.

It will be the third such forum hosted by the KP Chair in line with his focus on the diamond valuation initiative towards the beneficiation of African diamonds. It will build on the discussions from the previous workshops with the intention of reaching a consensus on the proposed list of criteria for rough diamond valuation, "an issue that has been deemed complex, but vital to address, by governments and industry players alike," the KP Chair said in a statement.

Bin Sulayem has previously hosted two workshops that looked to leverage the expertise and knowledge of industry players from across the diamond pipeline including institutions, experts and miners with a clear vision to establish best practices for rough diamond valuation. The first was held in collaboration with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to clarify the process of rough diamond valuation in a bid to strengthen the debate and have a consensus on universal conformity. The second forum was held in association with the Antwerp World Diamond Conference (AWDC) focusing on valuation practices employed by the global diamond industry.

During the 2nd KP Chair Special Forum on rough diamond valuation, a general consensus emerged that reverse engineering could be an essential tool for proper rough diamond valuation if and when accompanied by a unanimously agreed upon methodology and nomenclature of formatted sorting of rough parcels by trained valuators. Therefore, the third forum aims at moving these negotiations forward with an aim of reaching consensus on the set of generic criteria including a methodology based on reverse engineering as well as other systems and processes.

Speaking on the importance of continuing discussions, Bin Sulayem said: “Rough diamond valuation is a complex process and subject to volatility and discrepancy between the various models applied across the world. We are fortunate to have the diamond industry’s best minds visiting Dubai for the Plenary Session to build upon our accomplishments from the past workshops and to move forward on the valuation discussion towards an actionable and standardized set of valuation criteria.”

Today, source markets in Africa are responsible for 65% of the world’s diamond production. However, the argument is often made that these nations do not receive a fair share of the value of their diamonds. Since the beginning of 2016, the UAE KP Chair has focused on bridging this gap and addressing this critical issue which has been the subject of much debate between the various stakeholders.

“As the UAE KP Chair, I would like to highlight the importance of the upcoming forum for the diamond industry as a whole. We made important strides in the past meetings with delegates agreeing on a preliminary set of criteria for diamond valuation and there is no doubt in our minds that the 3rd KP Special Forum – the last in the series - will be critical to the success of this evolving discussion. The KP community has a great responsibility to ensure we reach a consensus on this set of criteria as undervalued diamonds coming from Africa affect the livelihood of all people in African producing countries. We are confident that ensuring greater conformity will enable African nations to better manage their mineral wealth and receive their fair share from diamond production”, Bin Sulayem added.

The 3rd Special Forum will include two panels and will be moderated by former De Beers executive Tim Dabson and Peter Meeus, Special Advisor - Diamonds, DMCC.

Among the panelists will be World Federation of Diamond Bourses President Ernie Blom, CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri, CEO and Managing Director of Asian Star Group and Former Chairman of the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council Vipul Shah, Executive Director of the Diamond Development Initiative Dorothee Gizenga, Head of Governance of Africa’s Resources Programme (GARP), South African Institute of International Affair Dr. Ola Bello, Diamond Commissioner of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Republic of Namibia Kennedy Hamutenya, KP Expert at the CEEC (Le Centre d'Expertise, d'Evaluation et de Certification), Democratic Republic of Congo Maurice Miema, and Chair of the Committee on Participation and Chairmanship of the KPCS, Angola Estanislau Buio Lau.