A Moambique official has said that 20 local as well as overseas firms have been awarded licences for diamond mining in the Southern province of Gaza, according to reports in the local media.

The reports quote Provincial Director of Mineral Resources and Energy in Mozambique’s Southern province of Gaza, Castro Elias as saying that his department has taken this step, following the discovery of diamonds in the region last year. Elias’ remarks were reported by Mozambique’s state controlled radio.

However, any exports from the country can only take place after Mozambique is accepted into the Kimberley Process, Elias is reported to have said, adding that the country has approved a set of legal instruments which will come into force on November 20 this year, for this purpose.

Prospecting and research work conducted in 2014-15 by a Mozambican consortium confirmed the occurrence of diamonds in Massangena.  Currently, prospecting and research work is also being carried out in provinces such as Niassa, Tete, Manica, Zambezia, Sofala, Inhambane, Gaza and Maputo, with the whole of the Save valley believed to be prone to the occurrence of diamonds.

Elias said that investors must continue to pay the annual tax on the surface, a tax liability, to ensure the maintenance of the license.