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Dakar — The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has signed an agreement with Swiss-based diamond and gemstone technology firm Adex Platform for the marketing of Congolese diamonds.The agreement, under which the stones will be processed domestically, is aimed at boosting transparency, curbing smuggling and raising local value addition, the mines ministry said.Mines minister Louis Watum Kabamba presided over the signing on Monday between Adex and the state-run Mining Fund for Future Generations (Fomin), the ministry said in a statement posted on X.The deal will create a joint venture, Adex RDC, owned equally by the two partners.The joint venture will establish an international-standard cutting and jewellery facility in the DRC and develop a digital platform to enable direct sales to global markets, the ministry said.The DRC, Africa’s second-largest diamond producer and in the global top five, has been pushing reforms to extract more value from its vast mining sector. The country has struggled with declining output and illicit exports, which have undermined revenues.It produced about 13-million carats of diamonds in 2021, falling to 8.1-million carats last year, according to official data. About 85% of output comes from artisanal mining. Industrial output is dominated by Sacim, a Chinese-backed joint venture, which produced just over 1-million carats last year.
