The Zimbabwe Diamond industry is on the rise despite the tough economic challenges that the country continues to faces, a cabinet minister has said.
Mines and Mineral Development Minister, Walter Chidhakwa, has revealed that the diamond industry continues to thrive despite the economic quagmire that the country finds itself in.
He made the remarks while meeting the Kimberley Process (KP) Chair, Mr. Ahmed Bin Sulayem who is set to tour Marange Diamond Fields in Marange later today.
“The diamonds industry has been transformed significantly over the last few months. We continue to experience changes with new structures that we hope will contribute towards greater exploration, greater mining of our diamonds as well as ensuring that our diamonds are indeed used for the benefit of our people and community,” Chidhakwa said.
The mines minister said Zimbabwe has the potential to make a huge contribution to the international diamonds industry by providing good quality diamonds and making sure the jewelry cutting and polishing are fully supported.
He added that the country is aiming to be among the elite class of diamond cutting and polishing.
In his response, Mr. Ahmed Bin Sulayem said he is in the country after realising that there are a number of key areas which needed Kimberly Process’s attention.
“My team and I have come here in Africa after our stop overs in the Central Africa Republic, to show our dedication and commitment to see the development of the diamonds industry and we are here to assess some areas which we think need to be looked at before we can move a step forward.
“We feel there is potential in the rough diamond marketing and we have been receiving a lot of calls from people who want to invest in that area in Africa, so we hope through our assessment, we can finally be able to be in a position to give the green light for further investment.
“We also want countries like Zimbabwe to start appreciating and valuing the rough diamonds before they leave the country. This will help the diamonds producing companies to see how valuable their gems are,” said the KP chairman.
Bin Sulayem said he takes pride in that his organization managed to bring Zimbabwe back in the KP a move which he said he hopes will payoff in the long run.
The KP team will tour the Marange diamond fields today before making the final assessment in the coming weeks.
