Unlicensed Diamond Miners Operate in Zimbabwe; Deaths Reported in Chiadzwa

(IDEX Online News) – Mining companies whose licences have expired are still continuing to operate in the Marange diamond fields in Zimbabwe, reported allafrica.com.  

Mines and Mining Development Deputy Minister Fred Moyo said only those firms who hold valid licences should continue operating in the area. The country’s diamond mining companies are in the process of being consolidated into one large firm.

Seven companies currently operate in Marange: namely Mbada Diamonds, Anjin, Marange Resources, Gye Nyame, Kusena, Jinan and the Diamond Mining Company (DMC).

Moyo did not reveal the name of the companies’ whose licenses have expired.

In related news, NewsDay reported that two illegal diamond panners drowned at Chiadzwa after they jumped into a slime dam in an attempt to avoid arrest by security officers from the DMC.

According to the Centre for Research and Development (CRD), an organization that documents human rights violations in Chiadzwa, panners were seen looking for diamonds in the DMC Concession.

“Guards opened fire and the panners, fearing a reaction team, scattered. Three dived into the dam in their bid to escape. Two drowned, but one survived,” the organization said.

The organization told NewsDay that it had called on the government to stop mining operations to allow due process that will pave way for transparency and accountable mining in the diamond fields, something the government has ignored.

“In fact, discord coming from the government has created uncertainty in the diamond fields resulting in increased panning syndicates between company officials and illegal miners, hence loss of lives,” the organization said, as reported by NewsDay.

“It is really sad that lives are lost through this way,” said Marange Development Trust chairman Malvern Mudiwa. “As the local community, we urge the government to find lasting solutions regarding Marange diamonds, which are obviously beneficial to all stakeholders including communities.”