Diamonds for Development Fund targets economic diversification

De Beers officials said this week during their interim financial results presentation that they expect the fund to target non-mining sectors of the economy to reduce mineral dependence.

The two parties have been engaged in increasingly tense negotiations since 2019, with government pushing for greater concessions that will enable the country to participate deeper down the diamond industry’s value chain, where activities such as cutting and polishing, as well as jewelry design and retail, produce greater values than mining.