Zimbabwe has shortlisted two foreign mining companies to extract diamonds from the controversial Marange fields, where the military is accused of rights abuses, a cabinet minister said Thursday.“Two potential investors have been shortlisted and we will be making an announcement soon on who they are and who has won,” mines minister Obert Mpofu (pictured) told AFP.
“We are still in the stages of negotiations with the two firms.”
Zimbabwe’s army last year took over the Marange fields in eastern Zimbabwe, where Human Rights Watch has accused the military of violently evicting wildcat miners while forcing villagers into labour.
A mission from the Kimberley Process, the global scheme for curbing trade in blood diamonds, recommended in July the suspension of diamond sales from Marange.
The government hopes that putting a private company in charge of the fields will address Kimberley’s concerns by eliminating military involvement in the mining.
Mpofu declined to reveal the names of the companies, citing confidentiality agreements with the firms.
Mpofu has been quoted in local media as saying that any firm investing in diamond operations would be forced to accept a 50-50 partnership with government. But he told AFP that nothing concrete had been finalised.
“We would prefer a 50-50 partnership arrangement with anyone investing in the diamond operations, but that’s a product of negotiations and it also depends on what any (prospective) investors are offering,” he said.
“This is a huge capital project which has got huge returns for the country and the investor,” he added.
Zimbabwe so far this year has sold 962 850 carats, up 152 percent from last year’s volume. But the value of the diamonds sold during that period is down about eight percent to 18 million dollars, according to government data.
The decline in value can be attributed to the poorer quality of diamonds on offer. This year more diamonds came from the Marange fields, which produces lower-quality gems compared to the country’s Murowa and River Ranch mines, the state-run Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe.
Business Report (SA)
Post published in: Economy