Zimbabwe has made amendments to the country’s Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act in order to to hold majority shares in state-owned diamond and platinum mines, Gem Konnect reports.
According to the report, “existing diamond mining ventures do not need to immediately comply with the law as they can negotiate a timeline of compliance with the authorities”.
In late February, Zimbabwe held a “test sale” of rough diamonds mined by the state-owned Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC). Mines Minister Winston Chitando was quoted as saying that Zimbabwe had accumulated a stock of 1.558 million carats from March to December 2017. He added that the ZCDC will conduct regular diamond auctions throughout 2018, and that authorities were working on a sales calendar to enable diamond buyers to plan in advance.