Message Lun 13 Mai 2013 20:21

ZAMBIA TO HOST INTERNATIONAL EMERALD SUMMIT

International and local gemstone experts will gather in Lusaka later this month for the first Zambian Emerald Summit.
The high-level event, which will be held at the Intercontinental Hotel on May 30-31, is designed to facilitate meaningful and valuable dialogue between key stakeholders within the emerald industry and is expected to attract senior government officials as well as leading mining and gemstone industry representatives.
“The summit will provide an opportunity for industry outsiders to better understand the emerald sector, and explore how the Zambian emerald sector might best be developed into a world leader whilst ensuring that the relevant revenues and profits accrue within Zambia,” explained Ian Harebottle, Chief Executive Officer of Gemfields plc, which is sponsoring the event.
Delegates at the conference will participate in presentations, panel discussions, question and answer sessions and networking events featuring a cross-section of local industry stakeholders, international gemstone and policy experts, and representatives of the Government of the Republic of Zambia.
A wide range of issues will be covered, with topics including transfer pricing; recording revenues and profits in Zambia; facts and figures on the Zambian emerald sector; updates from key emerald producers in Zambia; and issues affecting small-scale miners.
In addition, there will be insights into how the informal and illegal emerald markets in Zambia function; adding value locally and the history of cutting and polishing in Zambia; the international emerald market – competing with Colombia and Brazil; and gemstone tracing and certification – international developments.
Corporate social responsibility in the Zambian emerald sector will also be discussed, along with marketing Zambia’s emeralds: exchanges, auctions, direct-selling and consumer advertising; and lessons from the diamond sector, other countries and history.
The summit begins at 09:00 on Thursday, May 30, 2013. Participants (who are required to pre-register in advance) are requested to arrive by 08:30 to complete enrolment formalities. A summit dinner will be held on the evening of Thursday, May 30, 2013. The summit will close with a barbecue and networking event on the afternoon of Friday, May 31, 2013. Registration forms are available from christina.wiese@gemfields.co.uk.
A registration fee of ZMW550 per participant is payable. This includes refreshments, lunch and dinner on the Thursday as well as the networking barbecue on the Friday. However, participation in the summit is complimentary for representatives of the following bodies who register successfully in advance of the summit: the Bank of Zambia; the Zambian Ministry of Commerce, Trade & Industry; The Zambian Ministry of Finance; the Zambian Ministry of Mines, Energy & Water Development; the Zambian Revenue Authority and ZCCM-IH.
The summit sponsor, Gemfields plc, owns 75 percent of Kagem Mining Ltd, which operates the world’s single largest emerald mine, in Lufwanyama District. The Zambian government owns the remaining 25 percent of Kagem.