Antwerp sale tops estimate for traceable Congo rough diamonds

Antwerp’s first sale of fully traceable artisanal rough from the Democratic Republic of Congo cleared at an average of $65.50 per carat, edging above an estimated market value of $58. The 103.77-carat parcel, sold June 18 through a tender at Bonas-Couzyn in Antwerp, came from the Kamana Ndeke mine in the Kasai region and was mined by the COMIDIANZ cooperative.

The 103.77-carat parcel was the first lot in OrigemA, the Belgian-Congolese initiative launched in 2022 by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre with the DRC Ministry of Mines, Resolve and technology partner Everledger, with financial backing from the Belgian Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs Peacebuilding Service. AWDC says the deal was the first international sale of fully traceable artisanal diamonds from the DRC, a country it says produces almost 70% of the world’s artisanal diamonds even though artisanal output accounts for only about 5% of global diamond production.

Karen Rentmeesters, AWDC’s chief executive, said Antwerp’s buyer depth was the key to the result, with the presence of many international bidders improving competition and price discovery.

The proceeds from the parcel go entirely back to COMIDIANZ and its community of more than 20,000 people, supporting mine development as well as agriculture, healthcare and education. The project includes six mining cooperatives in the Tshikapa area of Kasai Province and the Kazumba area of Kasai-Central Province, and AWDC says 450 miners have already received training in sustainable and safe mining practices, conflict management and cooperative business management. The announcement was made in the presence of Sylvain Mwepu Kidenga, representing the Congolese Centre d’Expertise d’Evaluation et de Certification.