The lufwanyama emerald series, part twenty-one: what the law says
One of the most common responses to the value addition argument — from government officials, from mining company representatives, from people who have engaged seriously — is that there is no legal framework compelling gemstone processing within zambia. that the mining sector's legal architecture does not require that gemstones be cut or processed domestically before export.
this is substantially correct. and it is the first thing that needs to change.
the mines and minerals development act of 2015 — section 11 — gives the minister of mines the power to require, by statutory instrument, that mineral rights holders beneficiate or process specified minerals within zambia before export. the power exists. it has not been exercised systematically for gemstones.
the gemstones trading act requires that gemstones be sold through registered dealers and that export permits be obtained. it does not require processing before export. a registered dealer can obtain an export permit for rough emerald without any requirement that value addition has occurred within zambia.
what this creates: a framework in which the path of least resistance is export of rough. processing — which creates the value multiplication the series has been documenting — happens anywhere in the world. jaipur. idar-oberstein. bangkok. anywhere but zambia.
what a revised legal architecture could include:
a beneficiation requirement — through ministerial statutory instrument — that a defined percentage of gemstone production above a quality threshold be processed within zambia before export. staged. beginning modest. increasing as processing capacity develops. creating the market signal for processing investment.
a royalty differential — lower effective royalty on cut and certified stones than on rough — making it financially attractive to invest in or commission domestic processing. this does not require new legislation. it requires a statutory instrument under the existing royalty framework.
a certification requirement — zambian government origin certificate on every export — establishing institutional presence in the value chain at the export point and creating data infrastructure for tracking what leaves the country in what form.
none of this is without complexity. the beneficiation requirement requires careful calibration — too high too fast reduces investment attraction, too low has no effect. the policy design requires technical economic analysis.
what the action chapter is arguing is not that this is simple.
it is that it is specific.
the legal powers exist. the policy tools are available. what is required is the decision to use them. 💚