Media reports emanating from Zimbabwe’s capital Harare say that the country’s Cabinet, at a meeting held on Tuesday, December 4, 2018, has approved the Zimbabwe National Diamond Policy. According to this policy, foreign ownership of more than 49% can be allowed in diamond mining companies. However, this permission comes with a caveat – rough stones that are mined within Zimbabwe will have to be submitted “to a beneficiation centre to be operated by the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company”, one report stated. These companies are required to follow certain rules of value addition and beneficiation as well.

Currently, after the exit of certain foreign diamond miners, two companies continue to operate in the diamond sector in that country – RioZim, which is locally owned and operates the Murowa mine; and the state-controlled  Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company, formed as a result of the consolidation of all foreign companies earlier operating in Zimbabwe.

The new policy has been formulated pursuant to and in keeping with the Zimbabwe government’s stated aim of regulating the diamond mining sector and ensuring accountability in the mining, processing and selling of diamonds. The policy is said to cover all stages of the diamond value chain – from exploration, mining, through processing, valuation, marketing, to beneficiation, value addition as well as issues of security and law enforcement.

It is reported that Zimbabwe’s Cabinet has said it would now allow two more companies (apart from RioZim and ZCDC) to venture into diamond mining – albeit with conditions as stated above. The names of the two entities have not yet been divulged. Zimbabwe’s Minister for Mines and Mining Development, Winston Chitando, has reportedly said that the names “will be announced in due course”.

Once the new entities are announced, the Government expects any other entity or person with diamond mining title to approach any one of the four approved companies for joint venture arrangements.

“Government through ZCDC shall be the 46 percent and the local Community Trust the 5 percent indigenous partners of any foreign investor who intends to undertake diamond mining activities in Zimbabwe,” said Mangaliso Ndlovu, Acting Minister for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, briefing the media after the Cabinet meeting. “Government may waive that local ownership threshold subject to satisfactory submissions and due diligence. All rough diamonds produced from all diamond mining operations shall be submitted to the Diamond Value Management Centre to be established by the ZCDC for cleaning, sorting and valuation save for Murowa Diamonds.”

The Minister indicated that 10 percent of diamonds will be reserved for local value addition.