(HERALD) Zim to process, sell diamonds

Zim to process, sell diamonds
Herald Reporter

Government and diamond firm Canadile Miners have established a joint venture for the construction of a multimillion-dollar Diamond Technology Centre for processing of the gems in Zimbabwe.

The centre will also house a diamond auction floor, a marketing wing and an administration block that will house the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, Kimberley Process Certification Scheme offices and banks.

The Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe will be housed at the complex that will be built in Mt Hampden opposite Charles Prince Airport.

Addressing journalists at the programme launch in Harare yesterday, project manager Retired Colonel Charles Mugari said the centre — the first of its kind in Zimbabwe — will process diamonds into finished gemstones.

"It will house value-adding activities of the diamond industry such as cutting, polishing and sorting right up to the actual marketing of the finished products," he said.

Rtd Col Mugari said the centralisation of diamond activities would make it convenient for the industry to benefit Zimbabwe.

"We are also thinking of the grassroots people such as the ordinary people of Chiadzwa themselves who should also benefit from the Zimbabwe Diamond Technology Centre by being given quotas of diamonds to work on which they should derive benefit out of.

"Women and the disabled will also benefit from this," he said.

Affirmative Action Group president Mr Supa Mandiwanzira said the initiative would help improve transparency and efficiency in diamond marketing.

"We support this initiative because it is aimed at ensuring accountability for every piece of diamond in the country.

"As the AAG, we are aware that extraction of diamonds did not start with the Chiadzwa diamond mining but we are happy that our indigenous people are the first to spearhead accountability of the precious stones in the country," he said.

Mr Mandiwanzira said the AAG would set up a consortium of 10 companies that would be involved in the cutting and polishing of diamonds.

The consortium, he said, would be made up of youths, the disabled, women, war veterans, and widows and widowers of liberation war fighters.

He, however, said diamond miners should not claim a stake in the centre to enable other stakeholders to benefit from Zimbabwe’s natural resources.

Zimbabwe — like many other countries — exports rough diamonds and other gemstones for value addition in other countries.

As such, the country has not realised the full benefit of owning the resources.