De Beers urges vigilance over Marange diamonds

| Tuesday June 15, 2010 00:00

In a letter to sightholders, the company said that in view of recent reports  suggesting Marange goods will soon be exported, discretion is advised in purchasing goods throughout the region to ensure that any parcels they view do not contain goods from the Marange.

Earlier this week, Rapaport News reported that approximately 600,000 carats of Marange diamonds were being prepared for exportation to various destinations without Kimberley Process (KP) certifications. Prior documentation shows that at least 276,838 carats of diamonds from Marange were exported to Dubai by the state-owned Marange Resources in the first four months of the year.

De Beers said that it has assurances from the chair of the KP's working group for monitoring that no authorisation has yet been given to clear the exports.

'Until this is forthcoming, any purchase of goods from Marange will therefore be deemed in contravention of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS),' the company stressed.

Early last week, the KP monitor for Zimbabwe, Abbey Chikane, said that he believes Zimbabwe has met the KP's minimum requirements and that he would shortly approve their exportation.-(Rapaportnews)