ARC accuses govt of sneaking in new evidenceweek amid revelations by the British firm which legally owns the diamond claim that the government was trying to sneak in fresh evidence challenging the companys title.African Consolidated Resources (ACR) said the Harare authorities were trying to bring new evidence to justify their decision to dispossess the British firm of its legal right to the Chiadzwa claim, also known as Marange claim.
There are many legal and judicial processes currently ongoing. These include a recent attempt to introduce new evidence questioning the company’s title, which was not produced at the hearing before the 25 September Judgement and which is strongly disputed by the company, ACR said.
It did not disclose what new evidence the state wanted to bring before the courts, only saying it would continue to take all necessary steps to protect its rights and to regain possession of the Marange claims.
ACR holds right of title to claims on the Marange diamond field that was seized by the Harare government in October 2006. The companys right to the Marange title was confirmed by Zimbabwes High Court in a landmark September 2009 ruling.
Harare has however engaged two private firms to partner state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) in mining the claims despite the High Court ruling.
The government has said it will appeal against the High Court ruling while ACR has vowed to fight in the courts any attempt to strip the firm of its rights over the diamond claims.
The revelation by ACR came barely a week after Zimbabwes Supreme Court ordered that diamonds seized from the company in January 2007 and all diamonds acquired from the Marange claims be surrendered to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe pending the determination of the government appeal.
Marange is one of the worlds most controversial diamond fields with reports that soldiers sent to guard the claims after the government took over committed gross human rights abuses including murder against illegal miners who had descended on the field following the expulsion of ACR.
A team from the Kimberley Process (KP), the world diamond industry watchdog, that visited Zimbabwe at the end of last June condemned rights violations and rampant smuggling of diamonds that it said were being committed by soldiers based at Marange.
But a KP meeting in Namibia about three weeks ago decided against banning Zimbabwe diamonds from the world market and instead agreed to give Harare more time to review operations at Marange and improve security arrangements to comply with the organisations standards.
However a leading international diamond trading network has banned members from trading in diamonds from Marange, citing concerns over severe human rights violations at the diamond field.
The Rapaport Diamond Trading Network that connects thousands of some of the best diamond suppliers and buyers around the world has said that members found dealing in diamonds from Marange would be denied access to the network.
Zimbabwean diamonds not sourced from Marange are not banned.
Post published in: Economy