Marange diamond fields
Encyclopedia
The Marange diamond fields are an area of widespread small-scale diamond
production in Chiadzwa
, Mutare West
, Zimbabwe
. 'The hugely prolific Chiadzwa fields are regarded as the world's biggest diamond find in more than a century'. Production from Marange is controversial due to ongoing legal wrangles and government crackdowns on illegal miners and allegations of forced labour.
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, despite African Consolidated Resources winning a court case allowing them to continue mining.
In 2009 Mbada Diamonds (Private) Limited, a joint venture including a subsidiary of South Africa's Reclam Group, negotiated rights 'to manage the day-to-day operations of Mbada and the marketing of the diamonds mined from the Concession Area'. In the same year the Zimbabwean unity government issued a directive supporting the joint venture. In February 2010 the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet of Zimbabwe re-affirmed the government's full support for the joint venture.
In April 2010 the High Court of Zimbabwe ruled that the government could sell diamonds from Marange as it dismissed an urgent application from British-based African Consolidated Resources to stop diamond sales from the disputed fields. International pressure group, Global Witness
, 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. ACR announced that they would immediately be appealing to the Zimbabwe Supreme Court.
-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:
for a clampdown on smuggling, 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 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
. Although Manicaland
Provincial Governor Christopher Mushohwe said that the move had the full support of the local traditional leader
s, Chiadzwa villagers protested the resettlement.
(KP), that regulates trade in diamonds, although by June 2007 the KP annual plenary stated that it
The World Diamond Council
has called for a clampdown on smuggling of diamonds from Zimbabwe. In December 2008, the Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition, representing non-governmental organisations which participate in KP, called for Zimbabwe's suspension. In a statement issued by Global Witness
, the coalition said
On November 5, 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 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
.
On May 6, 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 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 broke down under intense pressure from the African Diamond Council and finally 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.
resumed the sale of diamonds from the Marange fields. On August 11th, 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. Press Reports describe the Marange find as, 'the biggest in southern Africa since diamonds were discovered in South Africa a century ago'.
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
production in Chiadzwa
Chiadzwa
Chiadzwa is a ward in Mutare District and Mutare West constituency in Zimbabwe and home to the Marange diamond fields....
, Mutare West
Mutare West
Mutare West is a constituency of Zimbabwe. It belongs to Manicaland. Mutare West includes Marange.The candidate of the Zanu PF was declared the winner in the March 2005 parliamentary election, despite irregularities...
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. 'The hugely prolific Chiadzwa fields are regarded as the world's biggest diamond find in more than a century'. Production from Marange is controversial due to ongoing legal wrangles and government crackdowns on illegal miners and allegations of forced labour.
Ownership
From the early 1980s, De BeersDe Beers
De Beers is a family of companies that dominate the diamond, diamond mining, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. De Beers is active in every category of industrial diamond mining: open-pit, underground, large-scale alluvial, coastal and deep sea...
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, despite African Consolidated Resources winning a court case allowing them to continue mining.
In 2009 Mbada Diamonds (Private) Limited, a joint venture including a subsidiary of South Africa's Reclam Group, negotiated rights 'to manage the day-to-day operations of Mbada and the marketing of the diamonds mined from the Concession Area'. In the same year the Zimbabwean unity government issued a directive supporting the joint venture. In February 2010 the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet of Zimbabwe re-affirmed the government's full support for the joint venture.
In April 2010 the High Court of Zimbabwe ruled that the government could sell diamonds from Marange as it dismissed an urgent application from British-based African Consolidated Resources to stop diamond sales from the disputed fields. International pressure group, Global Witness
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 Washington, D.C.. Global Witness states that it does not have...
, warned Zimbabwe against selling diamonds until the government complied with plans agreed with diamond monitors, the Kimberley Process
Kimberley Process
Kimberley Process Certification Scheme is the process designed to certify the origin of rough diamonds from sources which are free of conflict funded by diamond production....
to reform mining at Marange. In June 2010 the Kimberley Process
Kimberley Process
Kimberley Process Certification Scheme is the process designed to certify the origin of rough diamonds from sources which are free of conflict funded by diamond production....
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. ACR announced that they would immediately be appealing to the Zimbabwe Supreme Court.
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.Involvement of Zimbabwe government officials
Although the official plan was for the government 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. Speaking anonymously, a HarareHarare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
-based diplomat said
By late 2008, mining was being carried out by soldiers
Zimbabwe National Army
The Zimbabwe National Army is the land warfare branch of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. The ZNA currently has an active duty strength of 30,000.-History:...
, 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 response to a call by the World Diamond CouncilWorld Diamond Council
The World Diamond Council is an organization consisting of representatives from diamond manufacturing and diamond trading companies...
for a clampdown on smuggling, in November 2008 the Air Force of Zimbabwe
Air Force of Zimbabwe
The Air Force of Zimbabwe is the air force of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. It was known as the Rhodesian Air Force until 1980. The Air Force of Zimbabwe saw service in the Mozambican Civil War in 1985 and the Second Congo War of 1998–2001....
was sent, after some police officers began refusing orders to shoot the illegal miners. Up to 150 of the estimated 30,000 illegal miners were shot from helicopter gunships. In 2008 some Zimbabwean lawyers and opposition politicians from Mutare
Mutare
Mutare is the fourth largest city in Zimbabwe, with a population of around 170,000. It is the capital of Manicaland province.-History:...
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
Mutare
Mutare is the fourth largest city in Zimbabwe, with a population of around 170,000. It is the capital of Manicaland province.-History:...
, 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
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
Transau Farm, on the Odzi River
Odzi River
The Odzi River is a tributary of the Save River in Zimbabwe. It joins the latter river at Nyanadzi. It is dammed at Osborne Dam....
. Although Manicaland
Manicaland
Manicaland is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of and a population of approximately 1.6 million . Mutare is the capital of the province. -Background:...
Provincial Governor Christopher Mushohwe said that the move had the full support of the local traditional leader
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
s, Chiadzwa villagers protested the resettlement.
Torture
The BBC, the British state broadcaster, 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 ProcessKimberley Process
Kimberley Process Certification Scheme is the process designed to certify the origin of rough diamonds from sources which are free of conflict funded by diamond production....
(KP), that regulates trade in diamonds, although by June 2007 the KP annual plenary stated that it
The World Diamond Council
World Diamond Council
The World Diamond Council is an organization consisting of representatives from diamond manufacturing and diamond trading companies...
has called for a clampdown on smuggling of diamonds from Zimbabwe. In December 2008, the Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition, representing non-governmental organisations which participate in KP, called for Zimbabwe's suspension. In a statement issued by Global Witness
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 Washington, D.C.. Global Witness states that it does not have...
, the coalition said
On November 5, 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 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
Martin Rapaport
Martin Rapaport is an American entrepreneur and founder of the Rapaport Diamond Report. Rapaport is a maverick within the diamond industry, and is often recognized for his signature bow tie. He is a member of the board of Jewelers for Children and an early proponent of the Kimberley Process...
, 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
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
.
On May 6, 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 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 broke down under intense pressure from the African Diamond Council and finally 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.
Sale of Marange Diamonds
In August 2010 ZimbabweZimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
resumed the sale of diamonds from the Marange fields. On August 11th, 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. Press Reports describe the Marange find as, 'the biggest in southern Africa since diamonds were discovered in South Africa a century ago'.
Further Reading
- The return of the bloody diamonds: miners at gunpoint in Zimbabwe, By Dan McDougall, Daily Mail Online, 19th September 2009 .
- Diamond dealers ‘duped’ Zim govt, by Nelson Banya, Reuters, 5 November 2010.
- Zimbabwe's 'Blood Diamonds' exposed by Wikileaks cable, by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, The Telegraph, 10 Dec 2010.