Mali’s National Council of Diamond Professionals (CNPDM) set a 2026-2031 agenda to obtain operating licenses, cut diamond shipping to under seven days and preserve its Kimberley Process standing.
The objectives were announced on Saturday in Bamako at the organisation’s ordinary general assembly, held at ACI 2000, according to a report from AMAP.
The council also plans to establish a cutting center in Bamako, formalise 1,000 artisans and organise an International Diamond Fair of Mali.
Outgoing president Bakary Koïta told the assembly that the council’s effectiveness rests on its members.
“The success of our council depends on the effective involvement of each of its members,” he said, stressing transparency in management and the organisation’s credibility with authorities and partners.
Zoumana Touré, president of the organising committee, identified access to operating licenses as a persistent difficulty. The gap complicates justification of diamond origin and traceability, he said, at the risk of weakening Mali’s position within the Kimberley Process.
He also cited certification times for export-bound lots that can exceed one month, compared with less than a week in some countries.
Amadou Sanoussi Dafé, president of the National Confederation of Artisanal Miners’ Cooperative Societies of Mali, advocated formalisation of the sector and proposed cooperation with the CNPDM on training, cooperative structuring and dialogue with public authorities.
Soumaïla Siby, representing the Minister of Commerce and Industry, said his department was ready to support initiatives in favour of the sector.
According to its outgoing president, the CNPDM was created in 2018 and brings together sector stakeholders confronting difficulties in exploitation, traceability and marketing. Since 2014 it has undertaken efforts to develop alluvial diamond mining in Yanfolila and Kéniéba.
Source: amap
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