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Namibian Diamond Factories Decimated in Downturn, Mining Minister Says
Nov 25, 2015 10:22 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Nine
Namibian diamond-cutting and polishing factories
out of 13 have shut down over the last few years because of a downturn in the industry
across the world, The Namibian cited the nation’s minister for mines and energy Obeth Kandjoze as saying.
The four remaining cutting centers now employ 700 workers
compared with 2,000 at the peak, Kandjoze told an International Diamond Conference, according to the report November 24.
Other regional countries such as South
Africa and Botswana have suffered a similar fate, the daily newspaper cited
Kandjoze as saying at the event held in the nation’s capital Windhoek.
South
Africa’s diamond industry also saw a steep drop in the number of workers
employed, nosediving
from 4,500 to 200, Ernie Blom, president of the World Federation of Diamond
Bourses, said at a conference in Johannesburg last month.
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Tags:
africa, beneficiation, Namibia, Rapaport News, South Africa
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