(IDEX Online News) – Newly elected managing director Simon Trott, recently led a Rio Tinto delegation to the India Diamond Trading Centre (IDTC) at the Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB), according to the Gem and Jewelry Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).

Trott and his team met with GJEPC and BDB committee members to discuss the current state of the Indian diamond trade, and discuss ways in which the parties could collaborate in the future.

BDB president Anoop Mehta gave a brief overview of the IDTC and the Special Notified Zone (SNZ) and its facilities. He said that the premises had been booked on more than 200 days until December 2016 – with each viewing until now, attracting at least 300 people.

GJEPC chairman Praveenshankar Pandya spoke about the need for generic promotion and diamond marketing, encouraging the major mining companies to unite and allocate funds for this purpose. He pledged the support of the GJEPC for any marketing initiatives.

The Rio Tinto team also heard requests for small-to-medium enterprises to be allowed opportunities for direct sourcing of rough diamonds from the miners – a point that was also made to the ALROSA management team on their recent India visit.

The Indian diamantaires urged that all the mining companies, Rio Tinto included, did all they could to maintain stable stocks and rough prices, and not create an artificial market.

The GJEPC tried to reassure Rio Tinto that it was doing what it could to improve the standing of the Indian diamond industry with regard to banks, following cases of bad loans and companies winding up.