A “Special Forum” on rough diamond valuation will held on May 23 in collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The one-day event will coincide with the start of the Kimberley Process Intersessional.
The Special Forum will be used as the platform to drive discussion and contribution towards a better understanding of rough diamond valuation. The initiative is aimed at reinforcing and strengthening the debate and agreeing on a consensus for universal conformity. The forum will bring together global industry players – from institutions, sovereigns and civil society to experts and miners.
“We are delighted to announce that the OECD will collaborate on rough diamond valuation in the context of the Kimberley Process. The OECD is an institution with unparalleled global experience related to valuation common approaches and corporate supply chain due diligence. If we can come to a set of best practice principles on valuation, which could contribute to better living conditions of the many people that make living from diamonds around the globe, we accomplished something significant. Ongoing OECD work on natural resource taxation and the valuation of mineral products to help producing countries get the most from their natural resources is critical in achieving this,” KP Chair Ahmed Bin Sulayem said in a press release.
The inclusion at the Special Forum of large mining corporations such as De Beers and Alrosa, alongside leading mining experts such as Des Kilalea (RBC Capital Markets), Varda Shine, (former CEO of DTC-De Beers); Sergey Vybornov (former CEO of Alrosa), Levy Rapoo (CEO of South African Diamonds and Precious Metals Regulator), Kennedy Hamutenya (Diamond Commissioner, Windhoek, Namibia) and Jacob Thamage (coordinator, Diamond Hub, Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Gaborone, Botswana) and senior advisors from KP Working Groups such as Mark van Bockstael, play an important role in facilitating the most broad discussion ever happened on diamond valuation.
In a written statement to the KP Chair, Ángel Gurría, secretary general of the OECD, said: “The OECD stands ready to strengthen our contribution to global efforts on responsible supply chains of diamonds within the context of the Kimberley Process.
“We believe that industry-led due diligence practices and responsible business conduct can and should complement government-led efforts to regulate the industry in line with international commitments, like the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
“The OECD would like to underline the important complementary and reinforcing role that private sector due diligence can play in responsible diamond supply chains, when it is aligned with international standards such as the OECD Due Diligence Guidance.”
While the KP Chair Special Forum on May 23 aims to be a first ground-breaking step of consultation between OECD and KP participants to find common ground on the organisation, two more workshops are planned for later in the year. These will be on the subject matter of valuation of rough diamonds and the possible development of sets of best practice principles for rough importing and exporting centres. This will be done in close collaboration between government and industry stakeholders.