The Namib Desert Diamonds (NAMDIA) says it is well capacitated to handle and trade up to 75% of the country’s rough diamonds.
The Company’s Chief Executive Officer Alisa Amupolo told The Brief that capacitation is one of the key elements contained in NAMDIA’s Integrated Strategic Business Plan launched in 2022, which has seen it grow in leaps and bounds to the current 278,609 carats traded during 2022/23 financial year.
“…we are capable, just recently we have included that in our five-year Integrated Strategic Business Plan, of which one of them is to increase capacity across all areas of our business, while also making sure we improve technology,” Amupolo said.
“Therefore beyond 2026, we are ready to handle whether it is 50% or 75% of all diamonds that can come out of the negotiation between [the] government and De Beers. NAMDIA will be able to handle such volumes and discover prices at great value.
“So, we are ready. We just have to scale up from the N$3.1 billion revenue generation for the 2022/23, as we continue increasing our ability to handle more carats. We started with 143 carats, and six years later we are talking about 278 609 carats. Therefore, this year we will be handling more cartage again. Hence, it is no longer only about how much carats, but the maturity of the business processes including the routine performance culture,” she added.
Created in 2016, NAMDIA is tasked to conduct price discovery on behalf of the government and receives 15% of the total diamonds mined by Debmarine and Namdeb.
The firm was borne out of the renegotiation of the 10-year diamond sorting, valuing, sales and marketing agreement between the government and De Beers, which is set to lapse in 2026.
Authorities in the country have been steadfast with plans to bargain for a higher percentage when the current agreement lapses.
The plans are based on NAMDIA’s performance and government’s quest to receive value for its resources, as well as based on the recent development in neighbouring Botswana. The government in Botswana managed to gain a higher stake in the De Beers agreement; leading to an increase from 25% to 30% which will eventually increase to 50% over a decade.
Recently, Acting Executive Director in the Ministry of Mines and Energy Bryan Eiseb, who is also NAMDIA board Chairperson, said: “In the short span of NAMDIA’s existence, we have proven that it remains the most viable route to the market as a government initiative to sell and market Namibia’s diamonds as a 50% shareholder in the NAMDEB arrangement.”
“As such we must demand a bigger percentage from that arrangement to sell and market our diamonds, as we have certainly developed the required capacity to do so, the results speak for themselves.”
NAMDIA further aims to polish diamonds, as it intends to move along the value chain as part of its strategic business plan within the next five years. Recently, it said a joint venture with NAMDIA Client Samir Gems was signed, a once-off deal that opened doors into the downstream market.
“Going forward, similar opportunities will be explored in pursuit of NAMDIA’s price discovery,” the company said in its latest 2022/23 financial report.
NAMDIA has also stretched its clientele to 36, up from 16.
