Zimbabwe May Have to Cease Diamond Production

The Africa Report reported that diamond miners in Zimbabwe, one of the world’s top diamond-producing countries, are saying that it is not economically viable for them to dig any deeper for the gems. As a result, the African nation may have to stop producing diamonds.

As quoted in the market news:

There are seven companies licensed to mine diamonds in Chiadzwa – Mbada Diamonds, Marange Resources, Anjin Investments, Diamond Mining Company, Jinan, Kusena and Gye Nyame and at the weekend they told government officials – on familiarisation tour – that extracting deep conglomerate gems was capital intensive and they did not have the expertise.

The diamonds at Marange and Chiadzwa are alluvial, making them easier to extract through open cast mining.

Since their discovery in 2006, the alluvial diamond deposits have been heavily extracted with huge benefits accruing to diamond mining companies, but revenue generated has declined as the resource is depleting.

Click here to read the full article from The Africa Report.