Tanzania eyes Dubai diamond market

Arusha. Tanzania is now eyeing the Dubai Diamond Exchange for sale of its diamonds.

Production of the precious gemstone shot up to about 500,000 carats in 2019/2020, according to the minister for Minerals, Mr Dotto Biteko, who said on Thursday that Dubai offered hope for export of the mineral.

He was briefing journalists in Arusha on a meeting of diamond producing countries in Africa which started yesterday.

Tanzania is the current chair of the 18 member African Diamond Producers Association (ADPA).

He said with the price of diamonds having increased in the world market, there was a need to look for more lucrative markets like Dubai. The Dubai Diamond Exchange is poised to become the world’s largest hub for both rough and polished gems.

According to its website, it reported over $11 billion of trade in the first quarter of this year (2022).

In February it announced it had overtaken Antwerp as the top trading hub globally for rough diamonds – over $22.8 billion in 2021.

And with over $4 billion of polished trade in the first quarter of 2022 – a year-on-year rise of almost 80 per cent – it’s close to becoming the world capital for both rough and polished.

Yesterday’s meeting deliberated on the contribution of diamonds in the African economies.

Ministers from 18 countries leading in the production of the gemstone were expected to attend on how to scale up diamond mining.

Dr Biteko doubles as the chairperson of the ministerial council of diamond producing states in Africa.

Tanzania is among the leading countries in the production of diamond, one of the highly valued gemstones in the global market.

The meeting largely focused on the administrative structures of the ministerial body on diamond production in the continent.

However, discussions will extend to the contribution of the mineral to the economies of the producing states which include Tanzania.

According to him, countries expected to be represented are Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic (CAR) and DR Congo.

Others are Ghana,Guinea,Namibia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo, and Zimbabwe. The 12 countries will be fully represented.

Algeria, Congo (Brazzaville), Gabon, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali and Mauritania were invited as observers, also being diamond producers.

The minister said Tanzania was a showcase in diamond mining involving the small-scale (artisanal) miners not only for diamonds but other minerals.

“They have a lot to learn from us in how to empower the small-scale miners through access to the modern tools,” he pointed out.

The Ministerial Council was established by ADPA to ensure diamond producing countries in Africa benefited from the resource.

Various administrative undertakings will be made including amendments of the Constitution of the continental body and appointment of the officials to serve at the secretariat.

Large scale diamond mining in Tanzania started in the 1940s with the opening of the Williamson diamond mine at Mwadui in Shinyanga Region

The mine, which has changed shares of ownership over the years, is estimated to contain massive diamond resources of over 38 million carats.

Currently, according to the mine website, Petra Diamonds owns 75 percent of the rights while the remaining 35 percent belongs to the Tanzanian government.

The mineral is also mined in various parts of the country by both the large mining companies as well as small miners.