Foreign diamond group to invest heavily

THE Israeli-owned Lev Leviev group has officially resumed mining Namibian concessions formerly held by the liquidated marine diamond producer Namco after investing about N$320 million in the country.

The group, owned by veteran Israeli diamond dealer Lev Leviev, yesterday opened a diamond cutting and polishing plant in Windhoek. According to Leviev, it is the “biggest and most advanced” in Africa.The factory will cut and polish local diamonds produced by a sister company called Sakawe Mining Corporation (Samicor) and other producers.This makes Lev Leviev Diamond (LLD) the first company to mine and process Namibian gems locally.President Sam Nujoma hailed the development as heralding a new and dynamic shift in the history of Namibia’s diamond industry.”For more than a century our diamonds were mined and exported in raw form to other countries without adding value to them,” the President said.”This will not only enhance our national efforts to promote value addition to our natural resources, but will also create employment opportunities and enhance the transfer of skills and appropriate technology to our economy.”The same sentiments were echoed by Leviev, who is President of the LLD Group of Companies.He said that the current export of Namibia’s rough diamonds only gave the country a small share of its potential and this was not helping Namibians.”Why not let them share in the wealth [and] to learn new skills, to earn their bread in honour and advance the economy significantly,” Leviev said.He pledged that the LLD Group had come to Namibia to stay and cited the establishment of the factory as the company’s first step in the country.”The success of this factory will endorse our faith, and after that the sky is the limit.The future will include the building of more factories, more job opportunities and the growth of value-adding to the economy.”Trade and Industry Minister Jesaya Nyamu, formerly at Mines and Energy, also enthused about the new project and urged neighbouring diamond-producing countries such as Angola, Botswana and South Africa to emulate Namibia’s strategy.”The time has come for us to march together to ensure that we put an end to the export of our raw material,” Nyamu said.Lev Leviev Mining, the world’s second biggest diamond group after De Beers, had a 36,6 per cent stake in Namco before it went into liquidation.It has now taken over 1 500 kilometres of concessions along Namibia’s Atlantic coast.Namco collapsed under a N$300 million debt in late 2002.Samicor will offer eight per cent of its share to the Namibian Government, 10 per cent to an unnamed black economic empowerment group, two per cent to the National Youth Service Scheme and four per cent to future employees.The new N$40 million factory has the capacity to process between 25 000 to 30 000 carats a month and will employ more than 500 people once in full operation.According to Leviev, it is the “biggest and most advanced” in Africa.The factory will cut and polish local diamonds produced by a sister company called Sakawe Mining Corporation (Samicor) and other producers.This makes Lev Leviev Diamond (LLD) the first company to mine and process Namibian gems locally.President Sam Nujoma hailed the development as heralding a new and dynamic shift in the history of Namibia’s diamond industry.”For more than a century our diamonds were mined and exported in raw form to other countries without adding value to them,” the President said.”This will not only enhance our national efforts to promote value addition to our natural resources, but will also create employment opportunities and enhance the transfer of skills and appropriate technology to our economy.”The same sentiments were echoed by Leviev, who is President of the LLD Group of Companies.He said that the current export of Namibia’s rough diamonds only gave the country a small share of its potential and this was not helping Namibians.”Why not let them share in the wealth [and] to learn new skills, to earn their bread in honour and advance the economy significantly,” Leviev said.He pledged that the LLD Group had come to Namibia to stay and cited the establishment of the factory as the company’s first step in the country.”The success of this factory will endorse our faith, and after that the sky is the limit.The future will include the building of more factories, more job opportunities and the growth of value-adding to the economy.”Trade and Industry Minister Jesaya Nyamu, formerly at Mines and Energy, also enthused about the new project and urged neighbouring diamond-producing countries such as Angola, Botswana and South Africa to emulate Namibia’s strategy.”The time has come for us to march together to ensure that we put an end to the export of our raw material,” Nyamu said.Lev Leviev Mining, the world’s second biggest diamond group after De Beers, had a 36,6 per cent stake in Namco before it went into liquidation.It has now taken over 1 500 kilometres of concessions along Namibia’s Atlantic coast.Namco collapsed under a N$300 million debt in late 2002.Samicor will offer eight per cent of its share to the Namibian Government, 10 per cent to an unnamed black economic empowerment group, two per cent to the National Youth Service Scheme and four per cent to future employees.The new N$40 million factory has the capacity to process between 25 000 to 30 000 carats a month and will employ more than 500 people once in full operation.