HARARE -- Zimbabwe has the potential to supply 25 percent of the global diamond demand, an Israeli diamond consultancy firm told the Kimberley Process (KP) meeting in Tel Aviv, an industry publication said last week.
According to the Israeli Diamond Monitor newspaper, Chaim Even-Zohar of Israel-based diamond consultancy and publishing house Tacy Ltd presented to the KP an overview of the world diamond sector entitled International Diamond Industry Review with an Emphasis on the Kimberley Process.
The presentation also included information Even-Zohar gathered from a recent visit to Zimbabwe, specifically to the controversial Marange diamond area, the report said.
Presenting some figures on the diamond potential of Zimbabwe, Even-Zohar said the country has the potential to become a supplier of some 25 percent of the global diamond demand in terms of value within just a few years.
According to the report, Even-Zohar explained that the global diamond industry is in a state of transition and detailed the diamond value chain throughout the diamond pipeline. He also provided a profile of diamond production, highlighting the differences between production in 2008, which reached about 160 million carats globally, and 2009 when the industry response to the global financial crisis brought production figures down to about 120 million carats.
Having explained the differences between primary and secondary diamond deposits, Even-Zohar turned to the issue of Zimbabwe, pointing out that the spotlight on Zimbabwes participation in the KP has taken the focus off other issues that warrant attention.
“Even-Zohar told the audience during the KP meeting about his recent trip to Zimbabwe to gather first hand facts on the diamond areas that are the subject of such controversy,” the Israeli Diamond Monitor said.
“Even-Zohar showed a picture of the runway local to the diamond mining areas in Marange. The runway had been the subject of media reports earlier this year which suggested that military planes may use the runway as part of a diamonds for weapons trade. The presentation also included images showing diamond parcels stockpiled from the Mbada Diamonds concession in Zimbabwe,” added the report.
Marange, also known as Chiadzwa, is one of the worlds most controversial diamond fields with reports that soldiers sent to guard the claims after the government took over the field in October 2006 from a British firm that owned the deposits committed gross human rights abuses against illegal miners and were fronting powerful cartels in smuggling the gemstones.
The KP failed last wee to reach agreement on whether to maintain a ban on diamonds from Marange. Mines Minister Obert Mpofu has said diamonds exports would resume with or without KP certification.
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