Marange is the name of diamond fields that spread over some 566.5 kilometers in Chiadzwa, Zimbabwe.
These diamonds fields were discovered in 2006, at the peak of the political, economic and humanitarian crisis in the country. The production of diamonds in Marange is controversial due to the illegal mining and the frequent government raids in the area.
The previous owner of the mine was African Consolidated Resources, but in December 2006, the government of Zimbabwe took over the mining rights through the state’s mining development corporation. After the takeover of the diamond fields, the phenomenon of illegal mining became even more widespread.
Militia forces raided the area several times in response, and human rights organizations claimed that during these raids at the end of 2008, hundreds of civilians were killed. The NGO’s stated that many others continue to work under forced labor conditions, a claim that has been denied by the government.
With the increasing calls from the Kimberley Process (KP) to suspend Zimbabwe, a KP delegation recently investigated what was going on in the diamond fields, and ruled that militia forces are indeed exercising violence against the diamond miners. The KP demanded the temporary suspension of diamond mining in the area.
The government of Zimbabwe pledged to remove militia forces from the area in response, and stated that the Marange diamond fields will soon be transferred to a private entity.
