Mining: Namibian gem cutters eager

LOCAL gem cutters and polishers wanted to be allowed to process more of the stones produced in Namibia, the Namibia Diamond Trading Corporation (NDTC), a joint venture between the nation and Anglo American’s De Beers unit, said last week. NDTC sorts and values all the gems from Namdeb Diamond, selling 90 percent of them to De Beers’s Diamond Trading Company, and the rest to 12 local cutters and polishers, who were “very eager and want to do much more”, NDTC chief executive Shihaleni Ndjaba said. “We wish we could [sell] from Namdeb and other sources.” – Bloomberg