South Africa’s State Diamond Trader hosts a media launch in preparation for the inaugural Cape Town diamond show.
Johannesburg – South Africa’s State Diamond Trader (SDT) is set to host its inaugural South Africa Diamond Show in Cape Town from February 2 to 5, 2025. This landmark event will spotlight the country’s diamond industry, emphasising themes like sustainability, ethical sourcing, and local beneficiation while also showcasing innovations in diamond processing and traceability. Speaking at the Media launch event in Johannesburg ,Nosi Mzamo, the CEO of the SDT, said the inaugural diamond show in Cape Town would be a unique platform that will bring together leaders from the mining, cutting and polishing industries. She highlighted that the platform will create opportunities for both business to business and business to consumer engagements. State Diamond Trader is seeking to emphasise the uniqueness and value of natural diamonds as compared to lab developed gems through hosting a diamond show next month and placing emphasis on local cutting and polishing as value addition propositions.
Each day at the inaugural Diamond Show will feature a focused theme, such as: Sustainability and ethical sourcing in diamond mining, the value of natural diamonds mined and beneficiated in South Africa, global perspectives on diamond mining and trade. The State Diamond Trader’s show also comes against the backdrop of falling diamond prices as some consumers opt for cheaper lab grown alternatives. Through its mandate, the organisation intends to benefit the local jewellery industry through supplying beneficiators with unpolished diamonds “The legislation has mandated us to acquire and supply unpolished diamonds to local beneficiators and promote to the diamond industry through the necessary research support and development. State Diamond Trader is renowned for its diamonds that are natural diamonds. Not laboratory grown diamonds, not tempered diamonds or artificial diamonds,” said Abbey Chikane, the chairman of the board of SDT at the media launch.
“From the discovery of the world’s largest diamond to cutting-edge innovations in sustainability and ethical sourcing, the show will highlight South Africa’s commitment to responsible industry practices while fostering global collaboration,” State Diamond Trader CEO Nosi Mzamo. “It is a celebration of our nation’s rich diamond heritage, echoing our unwavering commitment to sustainability, ethical sourcing and public social responsibility. The inaugural South African diamond show is designed not only to elevate the status as a global diamond hub, but also to promote sustainability innovation and ethical sources of diamonds,” she said.
About State Diamond Trader
The State Diamond Trader is a state-owned entity established in terms of Section 14 of the Diamonds Act 56, 1986, as amended (“the Act”. It operates in the diamond industry with the aim to grow local diamond beneficiation. The mandate of the State Diamond Trader is to buy and sell rough diamonds and to promote equitable access to and beneficiation of the country’s diamond resources. The entity strives to address distortions created by the country’s historical exclusion of certain population groups from economic participation.
It aims to grow South Africa’s diamond cutting and polishing industry by enabling and increasing participation of Historically Disadvantaged South Africans (HDSAs) in the diamond beneficiation industry. The entity is empowered by law to purchase up to 10% of the run-of-mine (ROM) production from all diamond producers in South Africa. It sells to registered customers through an application and approval process.
The State Diamond Trader is a schedule 3B entity in terms of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), 1999, as amended.