The Marange diamond fields are an area of widespread small-scale
diamond
Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...
production in
Chiadzwa,
Mutare District
Mutare District is a district in Manicaland Province of eastern Zimbabwe. The district headquarters is the city of Mutare.
Geography
The district has a rural area of 5,523 km², and an urban area of 191 km². It is bounded on the east ...
,
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
. 'Although estimates of the reserves contained in this area vary wildly, some have suggested that it could be home to one of the world's richest diamond deposits'.
["Zimbabwe"]
''Global Witness
Global Witness is an international NGO established in 1993 that works to break the links between natural resource exploitation, conflict, poverty, corruption, and human rights abuses worldwide. The organisation has offices in London and Washin ...
''. The hugely prolific fields are regarded by some experts as the world's biggest (in carats, not by value) diamond find in more than a century.
[Inside Zimbabwe's controversial Marange diamond field "Zimbabwe"]
''CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
'', 16 March 2012. Production from Marange is controversial due to ongoing legal wrangles and government crackdowns on illegal miners and allegations of forced labour. In terms of carats produced, the Marange field is the largest diamond-producing project in the world, estimated to have produced 16.9 million carats in 2013, or 13% of global rough diamond supply. Marange is estimated to have produced 12 million carats in 2012, 8.7 million carats in 2011, and 8.2 million carats in 2010. While some diamond mines produce rough valued at over $1000 per carat, average production at Marange is estimated at under $50 per carat.
Ownership
From the early 1980s,
De Beers held an Exclusive Prospecting Order (EPO) over Marange via their subsidiary Kimberlitic Searches Ltd. Their EPO expired in 2006 and exploration rights were taken up by British-registered
African Consolidated Resources.
Production from Marange is controversial due to ongoing legal wrangles and government crackdowns on illegal miners. In December 2006, the company was readying trial mining operations when the
Government of Zimbabwe took over the rights via the
Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
, despite African Consolidated Resources winning a court case allowing them to continue mining.
In April 2010 the High Court of Zimbabwe ruled that the government could sell diamonds from Marange as it dismissed an application from British-based African Consolidated Resources to stop diamond sales from the disputed fields.
["Pressure group warns Zimbabwe against diamond sale"](_blank)
''Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was esta ...
'', 28 April 2010.
In September 2010, the Zimbabwe High Court formally revoked a ruling from a year earlier that restored mining rights to British-based, African Consolidated Resources Plc.
["Zimbabwe revokes Marange diamond ruling"](_blank)
''Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...
'', 7 September 2010.
As of February 2014, the diamond fields were operated by seven private entities, all of which are partnered with the Zimbabwe government under the affiliate Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC). All seven of the private companies were allegedly affiliated with Zimbabwe ex-military or political officials. The seven companies then operating were: Marange Resources, Anjin Investments Ltd., Diamond Mining Company, Gyne Nyame Resources, Jinan Mining Ltd., Kusena Diamonds, and Mbada Diamonds.
However, in 2015 all diamond mining companies in Zimbabwe were forced to quit mining or merge into the newly-created Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC), which replaced the ZMDC.
Marange Resources, Gyne Nyame and Kusena were immediately merged. Three companies sued the government over the required merger, including Anjin Industries. They lost the law suit,
and ZCDC took over the Marange fields.
On 4 December 2018, the Zimbabwe Cabinet approved a new "Zimbabwe National Diamond Policy" (ZNDP) which allowed four companies to participate in diamond exploration and mining at Marange.
Anjin Industries was revived,
and was named one of the companies. Anjin began operations at Marange on 1 March 2019
subsequently taking over the highly profitable "Portal B" at Marange from ZCDC.
Anjin is a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and economic risk, risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four rea ...
between the Chinese firm
Anhui Foreign Economic Construction Group
Anhui Foreign Economic Construction Group (AFECC) is a Chinese construction and mining company with an international focus that includes 14 overseas subsidiaries in Asia, Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, and Pacific Islands. Based on the value of ...
(AFECC) and the
Zimbabwe Defence Industries.
History
Mineral rush
A mineral rush began in September 2006, but accelerated following the government take-over. By mid-December 2006, around 10,000 illegal artisanal miners were working very small plots at Marange, and an immediate water, sanitation and housing crisis developed. The miners initially sold their diamonds to the government, but a black market rapidly developed, offering better prices.
Although the official plan was for the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
to mine at Marange, in practice mining has been carried out to the benefit of senior government and
Zanu-PF officials and those close to them, with little income returned to the government.
[Kambemba, C. 2007]
Kimberly Process Certification Scheme: Compliance and limitations in Southern Africa
Southern Africa Resources Watch / South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Speaking anonymously, a Harare
Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...
-based diplomat said
By late 2008, mining was being carried out by soldiers, using local villagers for forced labour. The soldiers occasionally pay the villagers with diamonds and surrender much of the produce to their senior officers. According to one soldier interviewed by IRIN:
Government crackdowns
The government launched police crackdowns against illegal miners and smugglers several times since December 2006. In November 2008 the Air Force of Zimbabwe was sent, after some police officers began refusing orders to shoot the illegal miners.[ Up to 150 of the estimated 30,000]["Zimbabwe meets diamond trade standards"]
'' IRIN'', 30 June 2010. illegal miners were shot from helicopter gunships.
In 2008 some Zimbabwean lawyers and opposition politicians from Mutare claimed that Shiri was the prime mover behind the military assaults on illegal diggers in the diamond mines in the east of Zimbabwe. Estimates of the death toll by mid-December range from 83 reported by the Mutare City Council, based on a request for burial ground, to 140 estimated by the (then) opposition Movement for Democratic Change - Tsvangirai party. The military operation, known as ''Operation No Return'', also involved searching travellers into and out of the Mutare West area, with people found in possession of foreign currency or diamonds being detained and being forced to fill in holes on the diamond fields.
On 28 January 2009, the government announced plans to resettle some 4,700 villagers from Chiadzwa to the 12,000 ha Transau Farm, on the Odzi River
The Odzi River is a tributary of the Save River in Zimbabwe. It joins the latter river at Nyanyadzi. It is dammed at Osborne Dam.
The Odzani River is a westward-flowing tributary of the Odzi, rising near Penhalonga
Penhalonga is mining villa ...
. Although Manicaland Provincial Governor Christopher Mushohwe said that the move had the full support of the local traditional leader
A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom.
Tribe
The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia.
Tribal societies are sometimes categorized as ...
s, Chiadzwa villagers protested the resettlement.
2010: Sale of Marange diamonds
In 2010 Zimbabwe's High Court ruled that the government could sell Marange diamonds. International pressure group Global Witness
Global Witness is an international NGO established in 1993 that works to break the links between natural resource exploitation, conflict, poverty, corruption, and human rights abuses worldwide. The organisation has offices in London and Washin ...
warned Zimbabwe against selling diamonds until the government complied with plans agreed with diamond monitors, the Kimberley Process to reform mining at Marange. In June 2010 the Kimberley Process monitor appointed to review procedures and conditions at Marange reported that, "Based on evidence provided by the government of Zimbabwe and private investors, and on...first-hand assessment of the situation, Zimbabwe has satisfied the minimum requirements of the KPCS for trade in rough diamonds".
In September 2010, the Zimbabwe High Court formally revoked a ruling from a year earlier that restored mining rights to British-based, African Consolidated Resources Plc.
In August 2010 Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
resumed the sale of diamonds from the Marange fields. On August 11, buyers flew into the country's capital, Harare, from all over the world, including Israel, India, Lebanon and Russia to capitalise on the sale of over US$1.5 billion worth of diamonds.["Zimbabwe holds £1bn diamond sale"]
11 August 2010. Press Reports describe the Marange find as, 'the biggest in southern Africa since diamonds were discovered in South Africa a century ago'.[
In September 2013, Belgian and diamond industry officials successfully lobbied the European Union to lift sanctions on ZMDC diamonds. In December 2013, the first European Union Marange auction took place in Antwerp and fetched $10 million for 300,000 carats, working out to a price of just over $30 per-carat on average. A second auction is scheduled for February 12–21, 2014 where another 300,000 carats will be sold.]
2016: Nationalization
In March 2016, president Mugabe announced that the government was nationalizing its diamond mines. Diamond-related mining licenses were revoked or not renewed. Mbada Diamonds and Anjin Investments have sued the government in the country's high court. The court ruled twice in their favor, yet the government did not renew any license. With the workers out of the mines, security needs to be increased as looters are targeting the left-out mines.
Torture
The BBC claims Zimbabwe's security forces have a torture camp in the Marange diamond fields; methods include severe beatings, sexual assault and dog mauling according to alleged victims.
International response
Zimbabwe is a participant in the Kimberley Process (KP), that regulates trade in diamonds,[ although by June 2007 the KP annual plenary stated that it ''noted with concern the continuing challenges to KP implementation in Zimbabwe and recommended further monitoring of developments and concerted actions in that respect.''] The World Diamond Council The World Diamond Council is an organization representing the entire diamond value chain including representatives from diamond mining, manufacturing, trading and retail. The council was established in July 2000. The purpose was to create a system ...
has called for a clampdown on smuggling of diamonds from Zimbabwe. In December 2008, the Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition, representing non-governmental organisations
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...
which participate in KP, called for Zimbabwe's suspension. In a statement issued by Global Witness
Global Witness is an international NGO established in 1993 that works to break the links between natural resource exploitation, conflict, poverty, corruption, and human rights abuses worldwide. The organisation has offices in London and Washin ...
, the coalition said
''the Kimberley Process (should) suspend Zimbabwe from the rough diamond certification scheme, in light of recent violence used by the government to take control of the Chiadzwa diamond fields.''
On 5 November 2009, however, the Kimberley Process conducted its annual meeting in Namibia and decided against the suspension of Zimbabwe. Instead, it recommended and then implemented with the compliance of the Zimbabwean government a 12-month working plan to monitor diamonds mined from the Marange field. The plan is aimed towards preventing exports curbing illegal digging, stopping smuggling of diamonds from Marange, better securing the area, improving the accounting and auditing of Marange diamonds, and supervising exports from the mine.
Many NGO’s came out in support of the plan, while others protested it as shielding Zimbabwe’s alleged grave human rights abuses. The Rapaport Group, chaired by Martin Rapaport, went so far as to ban traders on its internet diamond trading network from trading any diamonds from the Marange fields.
Towards the end of 2009, it was claimed that Marange diamonds were being smuggled out of Zimbabwe through Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
.
On 6 May 2010, the KP Chair reminded all participants that they should maintain vigilance to ensure that Marange diamonds comply with the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme
The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is the process established in 2003 to prevent " conflict diamonds" from entering the mainstream rough diamond market by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56 following recommendations in ...
. The five-page notice also included photographs and descriptions of rough diamonds from the Marange fields: "On first sight, strong 'gravel' impression resembling rounded pebbles in a riverbed. Look like tumbled and abraded coarse chips of broken beer bottles with colours ranging from dark brown to black to darkish green. Most surfaces are matt (sic) and dulled with rounded corners and edges. Broken surfaces display 'metallic-like' lustre." The report also contains photographs showing Marange diamonds in various stages of processing, so they can be recognized if they are mixed in with a legitimate diamond export.
In July 2010 the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme
The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is the process established in 2003 to prevent " conflict diamonds" from entering the mainstream rough diamond market by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56 following recommendations in ...
agreed that diamonds from Marange could be sold on the international market after a report from the Scheme's monitor a month earlier described diamonds mined from the fields as conflict-free.
Global Witness Quits Group on ‘Blood Diamonds’
The New York Times reported on Monday, 5 December 2011["Global Witness Quits Group on ‘Blood Diamonds’](_blank)
" 5 December 2011. that Global Witness had withdrawn from the Kimberley Process coalition, saying that it felt the effort no longer effectively ensured that conflict diamonds did not make their way onto retail markets. The organization is the first advocacy group to leave the program. While the organization had expressed concerns over the operation of the Kimberley Process for some time, the final straw leading to its withdrawal was the decision to allow Zimbabwe to export diamonds from the Marange fields, where there have been reports of widespread human rights abuses by government security forces. “It’s the most egregious situation that we’ve seen since the Kimberley Process was launched, where diamonds have been fueling violence and human rights violations, and the Kimberley has really failed to deal with that effectively,” said Annie Dunnebacke, the senior campaigner for Global Witness. The diamond industry was “hiding behind the Kimberley Process,” Ms. Dunnebacke said, adding that many traders and dealers did not perform due diligence in checking the actual source of the diamonds they were dealing. “They’ve just been saying, ‘We have the Kimberley Process for diamonds, so that’s that. We’ve solved the problem of blood diamonds.’” Farai Maguwu, the director of the Zimbabwe-based Centre for Research and Development, which is also a member of the Kimberley Process, said he believed Global Witness’s withdrawal was not enough to bring down the entire Kimberley Process. But, he said, “it’s a very big blow. The Kimberley Process will never be the same without the Global Witness,” Mr. Maguwu said. “A very influential member of the Kimberley Process has cast a vote of no confidence in the Kimberley Process, which will affect the way the whole world views the Kimberley Process going forward.”
Water poisoning
A 2012 study commissioned by the Zimbabwe Environmental Lawyers Association (ZELA) and conducted by the University of Zimbabwe
The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) is a public university in Harare, Zimbabwe. It opened in 1952 as the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and was initially affiliated with the University of London. It was later renamed the University ...
found that operations at the diamond fields are releasing dangerous chemicals into the Save River. This is having dire consequences on the communities that live downstream from the river and there was panic in October 2012 when residents of these communities learned of the findings of the report and the potential medical effects this could have. Three diamond mining companies were found to be at fault; Anjin, Diamond Mining Corporation and Marange Resources.
Rigged elections
In 2013, US-based investigative platform 100 Reporters published Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) documents revealing how $1 billion diamond revenues and support from companies including Mbada, Anjin and China Sonangol, would be invested in security and intelligence measures designed to rig the elections. The article identified the Chinese role (including an official from the Chinese Communist Party),and alleged kickbacks to leaders in the SADC, dated May 2013, with the intent of having Mugabe become chair. Soon after the elections, this came to pass. The CIO listed specific steps taken to numerically rig the polls: "Registering less than ten real voters on “any given day with direct command from Nikuv” and the Party; Populating the voters’ roll before, and during, elections to counter unfavorable voting outcomes; Parallel registration and mobilization for “statistical maneuvering, depopulation and population of hostile constituencies,” in coordination with the Registrar’s Office and an official of the Chinese Communist Party identified in the documents as Chung Huwao; Obstructing registration in the 18-35 age brackets, and over-registering voters in the 35-90 age brackets; Using housing schemes to “re-orient beneficiaries” and log them on the voting roll; Deliberately congesting the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission registration by “security personnel and trusted lieutenants to delay the process as advised by Nikuv”.
Notes and references
Further reading
Diamond dealers ‘duped’ Zim govt
by Nelson Banya, Reuters, 5 November 2010.
by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, The Telegraph, 10 December 2010.
{{coord, 19, 35, 26, S, 32, 21, 08, E, display=title
Diamond mines in Zimbabwe
Blood diamonds
Buildings and structures in Manicaland Province
Geography of Manicaland Province
Mutare District