Brazil Minerals, Inc., a publicly traded holding company headquartered in Belo Horizonte, has announced that it has held preliminary discussions with the Panama Diamond Exchange, and is considering involvement in what will be the first dedicated diamond, gemstone and jewelry trading hub in Latin America, the Panama Gem & Jewelry Center.

Brazil Minerals’ subsidiary, subsidiary Mineração Duas Barras, operates the largest gold and diamond alluvial plants in Latin America.

According to a statement released by the corporation, Brazil Minerals considers PDE to be an effective channel though which can sell rough and polished diamonds to global buyers. Its relationship with PDE, it said, would be “mutually attractive.”

Brazil Minerals revealed in June that it intends transforming Mineração Duas Barras into a vertically integrated miner of rough diamonds and gold. It also is a producer of polished diamonds, having built its own diamond cutting and polishing facility in Brazil. The company has to date sold its polished diamonds to a multi-store jewelry chain in Brazil.

In 2013, Brazil Minerals obtained licenses from the Brazilian federal authorizes, which enable it to export polished or rough diamonds mined from Mineração Duas Barras.

Mineração Duas Barras’ alluvial diamond mining facility is located on the left bank of the Jequitinhonha River in the state of Minas Gerais, about 425 kilometers north of Belo Horizonte, the state capital. The river has a well-known site for diamond and gold production since the 18th century.