The Diamond Trading Company (DTC) is the rough diamond sales and distribution arm of the

De Beers De Beers Group is an international corporation that specializes in diamond mining, diamond exploitation, diamond retail, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. The company is active in open-pit, large-scale alluvial and c ...

Family of Companies. The DTC sorts, values and sells about 35% of the world’s rough diamonds by value. The DTC has a combination of wholly owned and joint venture operations in South Africa (DTCSA),

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

(DTCB),

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

(

NDTC The Namibia Diamond Trading Company (NDTC) is a 50/50 joint venture between the Republic of Namibia and the DTC; the mining and sorting arm of De Beers. Namibia is a known source for gem quality diamonds and is the fourth-largest exporter of non ...

) and the United Kingdom (DTC). The DTC sells diamonds that are sourced primarily from De Beers' mining operations in South Africa and Canada, and through its partnerships with the governments of Botswana, Namibia and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. Sorters in London, Kimberley,

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 20 ...

and

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its agglomeration is home to 421,907 inhabitants at the 2011 census. Gaboron ...

sort these diamonds into approximately 12,000 different categories based on size, shape, quality and colour. DTC clients are known as

Sightholder A sightholder is a company on the De Beers Global Sightholder Sales's (DBGSS) list of authorized bulk purchasers of rough diamonds. De Beers Group made this list, the second largest miner of diamonds. DBGSS was previously known as DTC (Diamond T ...

s, and the selection process is based on the outcome of the Supplier of Choice (SoC) Sightholder application and assessment process. DTC Sales in 2009 were $3.84bn. The DTC also develops and produces diamond technology, which ensures consistency of DTC rough diamond assortments for its Sightholder clients. The DTC’s Sightholders are required to comply with the De Beers’s Best Practice Principles (BPP)s which set out various objective standards of conduct within three main areas – Business responsibilities; Social responsibilities; Environmental responsibilities. The BPPs ensure that the De Beers Family of Companies, DTC Sightholders and applicable third parties are operating to the specific ethical, legal, professional, social and environmental standards. The DTC also requires its clients to be 100% committed to the Kimberley Process. The

Kimberley Process The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is the process established in 2003 to prevent "conflict diamonds" from entering the mainstream rough diamond market by United Nations General Assembly resolution, United Nations General Assembly Re ...

started when Southern African diamond-producing countries met in Kimberley, South Africa, in May 2000, to discuss ways to stop the trade of ‘

conflict diamonds ''Blood Diamond'' is a 2006 American political war action thriller film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, and Djimon Hounsou. The title refers to blood diamonds, which are diamonds mi ...

’ and ensure that diamond purchases were not funding violence or terrorism activities. In December 2000, the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

adopted a landmark resolution supporting the creation of an international certification scheme for rough diamonds. By November 2002, negotiations between governments, the international diamond industry and civil society organisations resulted in the creation of the

Kimberley Process Certification Scheme The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is the process established in 2003 to prevent "conflict diamonds" from entering the mainstream rough diamond market by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56 following recommendations in ...

(KPCS). The KPCS sets out the requirements for controlling rough diamond production and trade. The KPCS became effective in 2003.

See also

References

Related links