Plans to reopen diamond office shelved

diamond sales offices at Antwerp Diamond Centre in Belgium and the United Arab Emirates.
The Belgian office was closed in the early 1990s.

Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe acting general manager Mr Richard Chingodza said the company had shelved the plans to reopen.
“At the moment we have no plans to open the diamond sales offices anywhere, be it in Belgium or the UAE,” he said.
“Our customers already know our product.”

Zimbabwe diamonds continue to dominate the international market with the Kimberley Process reporting that the country is now the world’s fifth largest producer of the gems.

The country has the potential to satisfy more than 25 percent of global diamond demand and is targeting to produce 12 million carats in 2012.
Zimbabwe exported 7,15 million carats of diamonds in 2011 as restriction on exports from Marange area curbed sales.
According to the KP 2011 Report, Zimbabwe exported its gems at a price of US$54,31 per carat, lower than the average market price of US$56,01.

Zimbabwe has been tipped to become the third largest diamond producer by the end of this
decade.

Currently, there are four diamond mining firms operating in the Chiadzwa fields, namely Marange Resources, Mbada Diamonds, Anjin and Diamond Mining Corporation.

Western countries led by the United States have been battling to block Zimbabwe from selling its diamonds as part of the sanctions they have imposed on the country.
This is in spite of the green light that the country has obtained from the global diamond watchdog, the Kimberley Process, to freely market its gems on international markets. — New Ziana.