Diamond Licence Talks Lighten Dealer Concerns

Posted to the web 23 July 2008 Charlotte Mathews Johannesburg THE anxieties of diamond dealers and cutters about the implementation of new legislation on issuing licences have been allayed after negotiations between the regulators and the Diamond Council, council chairman Ernest Blom said yesterday. Under the Diamond Amendment Act and the Precious Metals Act, both promulgated 18 months ago, a new process of applying for licences was introduced. Diamond licences expired on June 30 this year and precious metals licences, which refer to the broader industry upstream of diamond cutting and dealing, will expire on the same date next year. A mid-June article in influential diamond industry publication Tacy highlighted the strong emotions expressed in the local industry over the insistence by the Diamond and Precious Metals... [read full story]