LUSAKA – Zambia’s main emerald producer has established a new purchasing scheme which will make small scale miners sell their green gems and avoid being duped by unscrupulous buyers.
Kagem Mining Limited, in a statement on Friday in Zambia, said it had established a buying center in Kitwe city in the Copperbelt Province.
The company said this way, it would help small scale miners market their emeralds and other precious stones.
According to the statement, the new buying center will operate on a “willing seller-willing buyer” basis.
“It will also provide a point at which small scale miners could take their green stones to be appraised by professionals.
“If a price is agreed, then the gemstones will be sent to Kagem’ s existing processing facility where they will be generally processed, washed, chipped, cobbed, cleaned, graded and sorted,’’ it said.
The statement quoted William Nyirenda, the company’s chairperson as saying the initiative was a transformative development because it provided immediate access to fair market prices for small scale miners and other emerald sellers.
It also stated that government would be assured that a greater proportion of Zambian emeralds would ensure royalties and taxes accrued at full value in a transparent and fully auditable manner.
It further stated that small scale emerald miners would now have the opportunity to sell their emeralds at highly competitive market prices.
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“They will also know that the entire process will be done in a fully transparent and legitimate way”, the statement said.
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