GEMS . . . Diamonds from Zimbabwe's Marange field near Mutare

HARARE – Zimbabwe has short-listed about 20 companies to extract diamonds at the troubled Chaidzwa field in the country’s eastern districts but only about five are being seriously considered, a senior government official told ZimOnline on Friday.

The short-listing of the firms comes at a time when Harare is also considering having small scale indigenous miners in the diamond field that is also known as Marange.

“We have received some 20 applications from various firms to mine diamonds in Chaidzwa,” said the senior official speaking on condition that his name was not published.

“The applications are now under consideration. Of the 20 applications, four or five applications are seriously under consideration at this stage. We are not sure when the process will be completed, but (Mines Minister Obert) Mpofu has already got the documents.”

Currently, two firms Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners – both joint ventures the government’s Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) formed with two South African firms last year – are mining diamonds at Chiadzwa.

The ZMDC controls some 69 000 hectares of the vast diamond field.

The joint ventures were formed as part of measures to bring mining of diamonds at Marange in line with standards stipulated by world diamond industry watchdog, the Kimberley Process (KP).

Mpofu and his deputy Murisi Zwizwai were not immediately available for comment.

The shortlitsing of the five firms comes at a time when a KP monitor Abbey Chikane has already begun assessing operations in Chiadzwa and Zimbabwe has also hired a Namibian consultant to train locals and help clean up its diamond industry to meet KP requirements, suggesting Harare was keen to remain part of the KP despite threats by President Robert Mugabe to pullout out of the grouping.

Mugabe and Mpofu have threatened to sell Zimbabwe diamonds outside the KP process should the regulator rule that efforts by Harare to comply with its standards were inadequate.

Chiadzwa is one of the world’s 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 who had descended on the field.

Human rights groups have been pushing for a ban on Zimbabwean diamonds but the KP last November declined to suspend the country and instead opted to give Harare a June 2010 deadline to make reforms to comply with its regulations. – ZimOnline