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commodities analyst Mr Kieron Hodgson, said Zimbabwe would become a major force on the global diamond industry.
“Zimbabwe really does have the potential to upset the applecart,” he said.
“The actual resource base of the Marange fields is still pretty much unknown, but official documentation implies that there’s between 60 000 to 70 000 hectares of resources there, the largest alluvial discovery in history.”
Mr Hodgson, however, said he expected Zimbabwe to be producing between two to three million carats per month at peak for around 20 years.
He added that Zimbabwe’s diamonds would dominate the Chinese and Indian markets since the US imposed sanctions on two of Zimbabwe’s mining firms, Marange Resources and Mbada Diamonds.
“China is a massive investor in Zimbabwe so I think that China and Zimbabwe are likely to be very close trading partners with diamonds,” he said.
The country, which is currently the seventh largest producer of diamonds in the world, has potential to supply 25 percent of global demand and has also been tipped to become the third largest 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 Certification Scheme, to freely market its gems on international markets.
Zimbabwe stands to earn over US$2 billion per year from diamond. — New Ziana.
Online Reporter