2 October 2017
Kagem Welcomes Ethiopian Goverment Officials to Zambia
Ethiopia’s top mining officials visited Zambia to get a better picture of how they might structure Ethiopia’s emerging gemstone mining sector.
The Ethiopian delegation drew on the experience of Zambia’s gemstone sector by visiting the Kagem emerald mine with a view to promoting the development of their own gem mining sector in Ethiopia.
The economic impact of emerald mining in Zambia was a particular highlight for the Ethiopian delegates, led by the Director of Mineral Licensing and Administration Directorate Sisay Ayalew Amera, who visited the Kagem mine in Lufwanyama and later attended Gemfields’ emerald auction in Lusaka, along with other colleagues from the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas and Gemfields’ Ethiopian partner Mazengia Demma, Managing Director of Maz Trading.
The Ethiopian delegation was interested in learning how Kagem is contributing to the growth of Zambia’s emerald sector, its impact on job creation, and the marketing efforts which have led to increased global acclaim for Zambia’s green gemstones.
The visiting officials were keen to understand what it takes to run the world’s largest emerald mine and expressed and hoped that Gemfields would use the experience and expertise it had to put Ethiopia’s gemstone industry on the world map.