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Kimberley International Diamond Symposium (KIDS) of 2023 will concentrate on finding methods to plan the future and find solutions. The Symposium, presented by the South African Diamond Producers Organisation (SADPO) in association with the Geological Society of South Africa (GSSA), will be held from 24 to 25 August 2023, at the Horseshoe Inn and the Convention Center
of Kimberley.
The vicepresident of Sadpo, Lyndon De Meillon, told Mining Weekly that “the conference comes at a time of much uncertainty in the international diamond industry”. In terms of international pressure, he underlines that the American economy seems headed towards a major slowdown, with a high inflation rate, high interest rates and geopolitical tension. Furthermore, the war in the Ukraine continues to impoverish the global economy overall, while the Chinese economy is not recovering as quickly
di Luigi Cosma
as was expected.
De Meillon states that the unfavourable economic conditions on a global level are contributing to a greater demand of artificially produced diamonds, with the consequence of exerting further pressure on the natural diamond market. The challenges are no less serious on a local level.
The inability of the South African government to handle the country’s mining resources for the benefit of everyone, is now the largest threat for the mining sector in general and specifically for the diamond mining sector”, states De Meillon, citing the corruption, exodus of qualified personnel and the appointment of inexpert or unqualified personnel, as reasons that have paralysed the Department of mining and energy resources (DMRE). Nevertheless, according to De Meillon, perhaps the largest obstacle to the development and success of the mining industry of local diamonds, is the expense of respecting the law on the
development of the
mining and oil resources and the law on national environmental management which have been imposed on the industry since 2002 and 1998. “We cannot respect all the laws. It is not economical, practical and the industry is unable to cope”, he states. A report entitled “Status of the South African small and junior diamond mining sector”, published in 2021 by the African Earth Observatory Network and by the Nelson Mandela University, shows that the small and middle-sized diamond mining sector, fell from 2,000 companies in 2004, to just 220 in 2020, passing from 25,000 employees to just 5,720. The KIDS this year, the first since 2014, will concentrate on research and on the new technologies applied to all aspects of the sector, to exploration and diamond extraction, including alluvial diamonds. New discoveries relating to the exploration of kimberlite will also be presented.
The technological developments related
to processing, diamond recovery, especially large size diamonds of high value will also be tackled; key considerations in the extraction and recovery process, given the generally high value of the product. At the same time, the organisers are also trying to encourage universities and students to present their latest research on alluvial diamond deposits and on kimberlite. “We truly strive to tackle the burning issues in the diamond industry, both locally and internationally, inviting experts of the sector not only to share their opinions, but also to participate in round tables on these themes”, states De Meillon. The symposium will start with a keynote speech by diamond industry analyst, Paul Zimnisky. The afternoon session of the first day will start with another speech by the executive president of De Beers, Barend Petersen.
On both days, there will be
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