Zimbabwe Supreme Court Demands Government Cease Mining at Marange

Zimbabwe's Supreme Court has ordered two government mining firms to stop operations on the diamond fields in the country’s controversial Marange region, the AFP reported Thursday.

Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku told the state-run Herald that two government-back corporations “must cease all mining activities.”

The British-based African Consolidated Resources (ACR) has fought for ownership of the field with the government-backed Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation and Minerals Marketing Corporation since 2006.

Most recently, the Court ordered that the Zimbabwe’s central bank keep 129,400 carats of diamonds, seized from ACR in 2007, until it makes a final decision on the case.

ACR’s mining rights to the Marange fields were suspended in 2006, making the area the sight of numerous human rights abuses as illegal smugglers, government forces and other parties have clashed over the land.