De Beers said Monday that it will restructure its Diamdel group of companies, which will include the closure of its South Africa operation.

Diamdel will continue to sell to non-sightholders, principally through Diamdel NV in Antwerp and Hindustan Diamond Corporation in India, De Beers said in a statement.

“All operations, with the exception of HDC, will be scaled back, as appropriate, so that we retain maximum flexibility to service our customers’ needs, whilst being mindful of cost efficiencies,” De Beers said.

In South Africa, the Diamdel office will cease trading, as De Beers has agreed to provide diamond skills and services to the soon-to-be-established State Diamond Trader.  Affected staff will be seconded in an appropriate manner to this new entity. 

“We are excited about our role in helping to set up the State Diamond Trader,” according to the statement.

In Namibia, it is expected that Namibia Diamond Trading Company, the new sales and marketing company owned jointly by De Beers and the Government of Namibia, will consider applications for supply from any diamond manufacturing operation in the country, provided it has a valid Namibian cutting and polishing license, a role played in part by Diamdel.

“Reshaping the De Beers Group is necessary to meet the challenges of being a world class diamond company in an evolving market place,” the statement said. “The Diamdel restructuring is part of this transformation.”

JCK