The Kimberley Process Chair recently hosted a one-day ‘KP Chair Special Forum’ on rough diamond valuation, as a precursor to the Kimberley Process Intersessional meetings taking place at Atlantis, The Palm, 24-26 May.

Attended by over 200 market participants the forum covered topics on rough diamond valuation challenges as well as the OECD’s work on enhancing the private sector contribution to responsible mineral supply chains and support to developing countries in raising revenue from executive industries.

Ahmed Bin Sulayem, KP Chair, said: “Rough Diamond Valuation is a challenge that is not limited to one country, one diamond centre, or the Kimberley Process – it is a critical challenge for the entire diamond industry. In particular, it is a top priority for the diamond exporting countries in Africa, which are looking to get the best value from their mineral resource wealth. As KP Chair, it is my goal that our work will lead to a concrete action plan towards a set of best valuation practices and ultimately a level playing field for all importers and exporters of rough diamonds.”

The forum was joined by industry leaders from across the diamond industry, including large mining corporations, mining experts and senior advisors from KP Working Groups.

OECD, who have developed the Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict & High Risk Areas, also joined the special forum as an industry specialist and observer.

Ahmed Bin Sulayem, KP Chair, said: “I am delighted that the OECD participated in the ‘KP Special Forum’ on Rough Diamond Valuation. The OECD is an institution with unparalleled global experience related to valuation common approaches and supply chain due diligence. The Kimberley Process would benefit greatly from leveraging essential knowledge from industry experts such as the OECD in order to establish best practices for rough diamond valuation.”

While the forum on May 23 is the first ground-breaking step for the diamond industry, two more workshops are planned later in the year. These will be on the subject matter of: valuation of rough diamonds and the possible development of best practice principles for rough importing and exporting centres in close collaboration between government and industry participants.

Within the KP, both the Washington Declaration from 2012, and the Moscow Declaration from 2005, were initial attempts to tackle valuation of rough diamonds. These declarations were outlined as policy goals and recommendations, but were never actioned in the industry.

The forum included three panels that were moderated by Peter Meeus, Chairman, Dubai Diamond Exchange:

• Panel 1: Rough Diamond Valuation Challenges


• Panel 2: Stakeholder consultation and feedback


• Panel 3: The OECD’s work on enhancing the private sector contribution to responsible mineral supply chains and support to developing countries in raising revenue from executive industries.

Speakers and panel members included:


• Tyler Gillard, Legal Advisor and Project Head, Investment Division, OECD


• Mark Van Bockstael, Chair, WGDE


• Varda Shine, Former CEO of DTC (A De Beers Group Company)


• Sergey Vybornov, Former CEO of Alrosa


• Levy Rapoo, CEO, South African Diamonds and Precious Metals Regulator, South Africa


• Aj Eiseb, Executive Chairman, GDV-Namibia


• Tali Goldstoff, Executive Director, TGS


• Dan Devlin, Senior Tax Adviser – Extractive Industries Tax & Development Programme, OECD


• Tristan Palmer, Director, MineralCare


• Russell Mehta, Vice Chairman, GJEPC


• Pranay Narvekar, GJEPC


• Kennedy Hamutenya, Diamond Commissioner, Windhoek, Namibia


• Jacob Thamage, Coordinator, Diamond Hub, Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Gaborone, Botswana


• Mark Van Bockstael, (WDC), Chair, Working Group of Diamond Experts (WGDE)


• Tali Goldstoff, Executive Director, TGS


• Chaim Even-Zohar, President, Tacy Ltd.

Peter Meeus, who moderated the debate on behalf of the KP Chair said: “We made some substantial progress on topics such as the necessity of an inclusive approach with African producing countries and the alluvial mining sector; the challenges of valuation of smaller goods below 20 dollar/ct; the issue of the availability of pre-assorted categories prior to valuation; - and the need to come to a level playing field of qualified government diamond valuators. All key agenda points to be addressed across two workshops to be held by the end of 2016".