No law for synthetic diamond sales under false pretence: Alweendo

Despite the global surge for sustainable lab-grown diamonds, Namibia currently has no regulations that prevent synthetic diamond manufacturers from marketing and selling lab-produced diamonds as natural diamonds.

This was revealed by Minister of Mines and Energy Tom Alweendo during the inauguration of the Diamond Board of Namibia here on Monday. The board of 12 members will serve from 01 June 2023 to 31 May 2026.

Alweendo said the biggest challenge the global diamond industry is facing is artificially produced diamonds that look exactly like natural diamonds, but Namibia does not have regulations that specifically deal with lab-grown diamonds in the market under false pretence of natural diamonds.

He explained that synthetic diamonds are produced at lower cost and are likely to attract a segment of diamond consumers, noting that the increased demand in consumers has a negative impact on countries’ economies producing natural diamonds.

“Currently we do not have specific regulations and we will probably want to assume that we do not have people that are selling lab diamonds in Namibia, although maybe they could well be,” he said.

Alweendo said it will not be possible to prevent the production of synthetic diamonds; however there is a need for a regulation that prevents lab-diamonds being sold under false pretence.

“As we go on, obviously we might have to come up with specific regulations that prevent such practices… However in itself already if you lie about something you are selling, you already know that you are probably offending one or other law,” he said.

He noted that diamonds play a very important role in Namibia’s economy. Of the total exports from the mining industry, more than 50 per cent comes from the diamond industry, he said, adding that in 2022, of the total taxes from the mining industry, 55 per cent came from the diamond sector.

Alweendo further noted that the biggest diamond producer in the country, Namdeb, which does land-based mining, has a 50/50 joint venture with Government, including its subsidiary De Beers that does offshore mining. He said 15 per cent of the total diamond production is allocated to State-owned Namibia Desert Diamonds (Namdia) and 35 per cent is allocated to the local cutting and polishing industry.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency