Milestone Tender Opens Market to DRC Miners

(IDEX Online) - A sale of rough diamonds from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Antwerp today (18 June) broke a decades-old pattern which locked artisanal miners out of the international market.

In what is billed as a world first, a small parcel of diamonds from the Kasai region was presented to buyers, thanks to OrigemA, a Belgian-Congolese initiative that provides access to international markets and guarantees fair prices.

OrigemA officially launched in 2022 as an initiative of AWDC (Antwerp World Diamond Centre) together with DRC's Ministry of Mines and six artisanal mining cooperatives. Technology partner Everledger is providing a blockchain traceability platform for stones recovered at remote mining sites.

Miners in DRC could, until now, only sell to two officially recognized buyers with no price alternatives, which inevitably led to undervaluation and corruption.

Today's inaugural proof-of-concept sale of 103.77 carats was organized by Bonas-Couzyn and opens up fair competitive pricing via public tender and access to international buyers.

Miners were blocked in many ways from reaching a free market. Supply chains were opaque, so buyers could not verify the ethical origin of the stones.

And cooperatives simply could not afford the $250,000 export license required by the government.

"Through OrigemA, we primarily wanted to address the challenges faced by artisanal miners in the DRC," said Karen Rentmeesters, CEO of AWDC, who was also involved in the creation of the project.

Their diamonds generally do not have access to international markets, which means that many cooperatives do not receive the fair price they deserve for their production.

Pic, courtesy AWDC, shows artisanal mining in DRC.