Source: Zim pays Russians $5m for diamonds – DailyNews Live
John Kachembere and Ndakaziva Majaka 4 May 2017
HARARE – Zimbabwe has paid $5 million-plus to buy out Russian-led miner
DTZ-OZGEO for expropriating its diamond claims in Chimanimani.
This also comes as parliament is cranking up pressure on President Robert
Mugabe to re-open the Marange gem fields to independent players before
year-end, as away of increasing production and ease the current cash
crisis.
Mines minister Walter Chidakwa not only told journalists on the sidelines
of a Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) meeting in Australia on
Tuesday that the settlement had brightened the Zimbabwe Consolidated
Diamond Company (ZCDC)’ future, but also that the state-owned miner was
poised for better things after many of Chiadzwa’s ousted operators had
withdrawn their litigations.
The $5,4 million buyout comes after the Harare administration had forced
about seven gem mining firms to cease operations early last year, in a
move that was expected to improve transparency and accountability of the
country’s precious stones, but the process hasn’t been smooth sailing.
According to Chidakwa, Morris Mpofu’s ZCDC not only had better prospects
after an $8 million capital injection from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
(RBZ) – to boost production beyond its current 200 000 carats monthly –
but through the acquisition of machinery from stricken Mbada and whose
equipment had been auctioned by creditors.
And the cash boost almost coincided with the ex-Central Bank senior
staffer’s movement from the apex bank to the struggling paratstatal.
Meanwhile, parliament’s mines and energy portfolio committee chairperson
Daniel Shumba has said that tne government must re-open the country’s
diamond fields to independent players before December this year.
Shumba also said Chidakwa needed to clarify on mining policies for the
diamond industry by June 2017, alleging that policy inconsistence in the
sector had cost the country million in potential revenue.
“Mining policies for the diamond industry should be clear and consistent
in order to attract investment both foreign and local investors,” he said
while presenting findings of an inquiry into the operations of state-owned
Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) before the National Assembly.
“The Ministry of Mines needs to come out clearly on the position of
government pertaining to foreign direct investment into mining concessions
in Marange. Policy should be outlined by June 2017,” he added.
The Zanu PF legislator further indicated the need to respect property
rights in the mining sector in line with section 72(2) of the
constitution.
“The Minister of Mines needs to ensure that property rights of investors
in the mining sector are respected in order to build confidence that
Zimbabwe is an investment friendly destination. Furthermore, companies
that lost their properties as a result of consolidation should be
compensated, by December 2017,” he said.
Following reports that ZCDC will begin gold exploration in Gache Gache,
Shumba said the company needed to stick to its mandate.
“ZCDC should solely focus on diamond production. The Ministry of Mines
should ensure that ZCDC focuses only on diamond production and cease all
operations of gold mining in Gache Gache, within a month of tabling this
report,” he said.
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