Rio Tinto’s Zimbabwe Diamond Production Drops by 42% in Q1

Mineweb reported that Rio Tinto’s (NYSE:RIO) production at its Murowa diamond mine in Zimbabwe fell 42% in the first quarter.

As quoted in the market news,

Zimbabwe’s government in January introduced a 15% export tax on unrefined platinum and there was confusion on whether the levy also applied to diamonds.

Rio Tinto, which owns 78% shares in the Murowa mine located in south-central Zimbabwe, said in a statement on Tuesday it had established that exports from the mine were excluded from the new tax, which took effect in January.

Click here for the full Mineweb report