Zimbabwe Minister: Kimberley Process to Monitor Marange Diamonds ‘If Necessary’

Posted in News by Admin on December 7th, 2009

Zimbabwe’s finance minister Tendai Biti indicated in his 2010 budget presentation that government monitors would maintain control of the Marange diamond operations, despite a recent Kimberley Process (KP) declaration to the contrary.

“[The] treasury, in consultation with the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, will appoint a government evaluator in order to assist in the valuation of Marange diamond production,” Biti said in the presentation posted on the Zimbabwe treasury website.

He explained that the mining and finance ministries, “together with law enforcement departments will station monitors on site on all mining areas in Marange,” and that “if necessary, technical experts from the region or the Kimberley Process will also be co-opted into the team.”

The wording in the budget was in stark contrast to a work plan, co-authored by the KP and Zimbabwe government representatives at the KP’s annual plenary in November, that required all Marange diamonds be reviewed by a KP-appointed monitor before being exported, to ensure they are compliant with the scheme. The plan also insisted on the demilitarization of the area.

The KP plenary failed to suspend Zimbabwe despite a June review visit citing reports of government sponsored killings and human rights abuses at Marange during the past year. Human Rights Watch has reported continued abuses there as late as October, shortly before the plenary met in Namibia.

Instead, the KP adopted the 12-step work plan to bring Zimbabwe into compliance after the country announced at the plenary that it has improved the situation at Marange by recruiting two companies to work the fields. This, despite a recent Harare High Court ruling that confirmed the fields belonged to British-registered African Consolidated Resources (ACR).

The disputed area covers 1,800 hectares (18 square kilometers) of the Marange fields, and is considered the richest part of the fields. The government has formed joint ventures with Canadile, to mine the southern part of the concession, and with South African scrap metals dealer New Reclamation, to work the northern section.

Biti said in his budget speech that he expects that the legal process connected to ACR’s ownership “should be resolved as soon as possible.” He explained that the joint ventures between the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) and Canadile and New Reclamation have been registered and that the companies will be required to pay a weekly dividend to the government. The ZMDC will “wind up the rudimentary operations in the Marange special grants,” Biti added.

ACR chairman Andrew Cranswick recently told Rapaport News that the companies were digging illegally on ACR’s property in observance of a government directive. He added that while the government had previously expressed interest to work with ACR on the fields, the company was not approached to form any joint ventures on the property. “We haven’t been allowed on the site since 2006,” he added, referring to the date when the government forced ACR off the fields.

Biti did not expound on how he expects the legal dispute with ACR will be resolved dedicating more of his presentation to the government’s plans to exploit the Marange territory.