Zim Diamond Exports Drop 3 Million Carats in 2014
March 30, 15(IDEX Online News) – Zimbabwe’s diamond exports declined by 3 million carats in 2014, according to figures from the Mineral Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ). Total exports dropped from 8.9 million carats in 2013 to 5.9 million carats in 2014. The decline is due to the “exhaustion” of alluvial diamonds in the Marange region of the country, reported the Financial Herald.
Recently, the Zimbabwe government announced a plan to consolidate all of the mining companies operating into the country into a single entity in which the state would own a 50-percent share.
Mining minister Walter Chidhakwa said that although some mining concessions had run out of alluvial diamond deposits, the country still has viable precious stone reserves.