Antwerp Aims to Sell 12 Million Carats of Gems From Zimbabwe
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The Antwerp World Diamond Centre wants to sell 12 million carats of diamonds from Zimbabwe this year, which would make the southern African country one of the six biggest suppliers to the Belgian-based trading group.
Zimbabwe conducted two auctions at Antwerp, in December and in February, realizing $10.5 million from sales of 279,723 carats and $70 million from 959,931 carats, according to the country’s Ministry of Mines. The center has also proposed a memorandum of understanding with the government to clean and sort the precious stones, leading to the creation of a diamond hub in the country, Chief Executive Officer Ari Epstein said in a March 13 interview in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital.