Zimbabwe to See Drop in Diamond Production for 2015

Rapaport reported that Zimbabwe’s diamond production is expected to total 3.5 million carats in 2015, down from 5.9 million carats in 2014. There has been a significant decline in alluvial diamond reserves in the country’s Marange gem fields.
As quoted in the market news:

Zimbabwe extracts alluvial diamonds from the vast Marange diamond fields but these are fast depleting, prompting calls for the exploration of new deposits. The size of the Marange fields is estimated at between 60,000 and 70,000 hectares.
In his mid-term fiscal policy review statement presented to Parliament last month, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said output for this year would not meet initial projections. “Diamond output for the first half of 2015 is estimated at 1.44 million carats, compared with 1.447 million carats recorded for the same period in 2014,” he said.
“Diamond output for the entire 2015 is projected at 3.5 million carats, down from the initial projection of 6.5 million carats.” Chinamasa said there was need to speed up consolidation of diamond mining operations in the country.
He called for expediting diamond companies’ consolidation, saying it will lead to enhanced mining operations.

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