International buyers coming to Kitwe gemstones auction

MORE than five tonnes of gemstones are up for grabs with buyers from various countries including India, Japan, Thailand and China converging at Wolle Park in Kitwe for an auction which began Monday October 10.

The auction, hosted by Pridegems which is part of the Grizzly Mining Group, will run till tomorrow.

Grizzly Group Chief Executive Officer Abdul Ba said in Kitwe yesterday the gemstones industry had shown great signs of revival over the last one year since the change of Government policy.

Mr Ba challenged Zambians to respond to President Hakainde Hichilema’s call to get actively involved in the country’s commercial sectors such as mining.

“The gemstones industry is ours as Zambians and we all have to refocus our energies towards its full exploitation. Government is doing much to ensure that a lot more citizens are trained and be the ones heading most gemstone operations in the country,” he said.

Mr Ba said Zambians and Africans should not sit back and leave the industry to outsiders but get involved and promote the sector.

He expressed concern that the gemstones sector continued to host some of the weakest industries locally as it remained focused on small-scale mining.

“The gemstones sector has remained weak in Zambia because this type of mining is difficult as one has to remove million tonnes of rock and soil to find a vein. This industry needs a lot attention and policy support from Government,” Mr Ba said.

The favourable change of business environment in Zambia as noticed in the last one year was likely to lure more foreign investors into the gemstones sector. – Courtesy of SUMA SYSTEMS.