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George Maponga in MUTARE
Zimbabwe this year moves into the small club of diamond producers mining one tonne or more of diamonds and earning US$500 million as Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company expects to exceed 5 million carats.
Speaking during a media workshop here organised by the ZCDC in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ), mining manager at Mr Admore Mangoma, who was standing in for the CEO Mr Dennis Mtombeni, said the company will produce over five million carats this year. There are five carats to a gramme.
Local and international journalists are attending the workshop, which is running under the theme, “Equipping the media to achieve informative and responsible diamond mining reporting”.
ZCDC’s proven concessions hold an estimated 32 million tonnes of ore, which will help the diamond sub-sector make a strong contribution to exports and help in the attainment of Vision 2030 of an upper middle income economy.
Said Mr Mangoma: “Last year, we realised about 4,2 million carats of diamonds from our mine at Chiadzwa and they fetched US$220 million but we expect to rake in over US$500 million from the 5,3 million carats that we anticipate to get this year.
“We estimate that our concessions at Chiadzwa hold about 32 million tonnes of diamond resource that can last us up to 40 years, but at the moment, proven economically recoverable resources at the mine can last about 12 years, which will increase with more exploration.”
Annually, ZCDC was milling between 500 000 to 800 000 tonnes of diamond ore.
ZCDC is one of the four companies, which include Russian miner Alrosa, RioZim-owned Murowa and Chinese firm Anjin, which are allowed to mine diamonds in line with the country’s New Diamond Policy.
Mr Mangoma challenged the media to create a positive narrative about the country’s diamonds, saying the sale of diamonds depended largely on market perception.
If the media tells a positive story, said Mr Mangoma, Zimbabwe could generate more money.
ZCDC finance and business analyst Mr Albert Norumedzo challenged the media to work closely with diamond mining companies and help create a positive perception of the sector for the country to reap more benefits.
Chief security officer, Commissioner Elias Mvere, said diamonds mined at Chiadzwa are not conflict or blood diamonds, saying adequate security measures have been put in place to ensure there was no theft of the stones.
Minerals and Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) sales executive Mr Ezekiel Mafara urged players in the diamond industry to harness latest technologies to derive more value from their gems.
Manicaland Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Advocate Misheck Mugadza, said negative perceptions about local diamonds diminish the value of local natural resources.
He said Zimbabwe has over 60 minerals which can help the country improve the people’s living standards.
Online Reporter