Tanzania’s Minister for Minerals, Mr Dotto Biteko has announced that the country is eyeing the Dubai Diamond Exchange for sale of its diamonds, having been offered hope for export of the mineral.
Mr Dotto Biteko observed that the country’s production of the gemstone increased to about 500,000 carats in 2019/2020. With the increase in price of diamonds, there was a need to look for more lucrative markets like Dubai.
Dubai Diamond Exchange
“The Dubai Diamond Exchange is poised to become the world’s largest hub for both rough and polished gems. It reported over $11 billion of trade in the first quarter of this year (2022). In February it announced it had overtaken Antwerp as the top trading hub globally for rough diamonds – over $22.8 billion in 2021. And with over $4 billion of polished trade in the first quarter of 2022 – a year-on-year rise of almost 80%, it’s close to becoming the world capital for both rough and polished,” said Mr Dotto Biteko.
Tanzania is ranked among the leading countries in the production of diamond, one of the highly valued gemstones in the global market. Large scale diamond mining in Tanzania started in the 1940s with the opening of the Williamson diamond mine at Mwadui in Shinyanga Region
The mine, which has changed shares of ownership over the years, is estimated to contain massive diamond resources of over 38 million carats. Currently, Petra Diamonds owns 75% of the rights while the remaining 35% belongs to the Tanzanian government. The mineral is also mined in various parts of the country by both the large mining companies as well as small miners.
