HARARE – The government has set up a diamond processing plant at the Harare International Airport for purposes of processing the
raw mineral from the Marange diamond fields in Manicaland, sources say.

Editors Note: The Kimberley process monitors “Raw” or “Uncut” diamonds. Once a diamond is cut and polished it is then almost impossible to determine it’s source. More importantly, the gems are saleable to a wider market and can be disguised by shipping them to dealers throughout the world.

The plant is located on the domestic airport terminal at the Harare International Airport .

A South African registered company Grandwell Holdings, which uses the trade name Mbada Investments, owns the plant.

Our sources say the company has links to senior army and Zanu-PF officials.

“They have set up base at the airport,” said the source, “that’s where they are processing the diamonds and sending them straight thereafter to buyers outside the country.”

Currently about 2000 hectares of Chiadzwa diamond fields are being exploited for diamonds. Truckloads of alluvial diamonds are taken to Harare everyday.

“About 3000 diamond carats are mined everyday at the Chiadzwa diamond fields,” said the source. “These are transported everyday to the Harare airport processing plant.

“Currently there are four companies mining diamonds at Chiadzwa, extracting diamonds at 30 000 cubic metre level but with the new equipment coming in, they shall be mining up to 100 000 cubic metres going down by year end.”

An official from Mbada Investments confirmed Monday that they had established the plant and were preparing to lay a runway for aircraft that would transport diamonds from Chiadzwa.

“We are in the process of laying a runway to make sure that diamonds from Chiadzwa can be flown to Harare, and we have made sure that a diamond processing facility is in place in Harare,” said Robert Mhlanga, a board member of Mbada Investments while addressing a ministerial taskforce team for Chiadzwa in Harare Tuesday.

The Minister of Mines and Mineral Development Obert Mpofu, however, denied the existence of such processing company at the airport when contacted for a comment.

“We are serious and we are not going to be derailed by people saying what they want,” said Mpofu. “We are moving ahead and we want the minerals to benefit our people.

“Don’t listen to what the people say. Listen to the official position.”

Elton Mangoma, the Minister of Economic Planning, said the government was working on a plan that would see 60 percent of diamonds mined in the country being processed locally.

“I do know that there is a company that has been given a diamond processing licence and it is a respectable one led by an experienced team of people,” said Mangoma. “I just don’t have the name with me here.

“We want to have a situation where 60 percent of diamonds mined locally are processed, polished and packaged here. We want diamonds to be a blessing to our people not a curse.”

Although the entire Chiadzwa diamond fields cover 67 000 hectares stretching to Mutambara communal lands, only 2000 hectares are being mined at the moment.

The 2000 hectares have been heavily fortified by a security fence and private security details brought in by the mining companies that have moved into Chiadzwa.

Members of the Zimbabwe National Army and police, accused of killing hundreds of people during last year’s infamous operation to flush out illegal diamond miners, are said to be gradually withdrawing from the diamond fields.

But sources say they are only moving out of mining claims that have been allocated to mining companies.

Mpofu stands accused of not floating a tender to select prospective investors to partner the government in diamond extraction in the Marange Diamond Fields amid allegations he overlooked better equipped and experienced diamond miners.

He is said to have cherry-picked Canadile Investments and Mbada Minerals without going to tender. But sources say serious political considerations where taken into consideration.

Candile Mine, Mbada Mines, Grandwell and Core Mining Minerals are mining in Chiadzwa in a partnership with Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC).

The sources said most companies from the western countries that were pushing for the country’s suspension from the Kimberly Process were excluded.

About 4 800 families will soon be moved to a relocation farm in Nyazura in an operation that is expected to start soon.

There are, however, reports that the families were resisting the relocation because they were not sure if they were going to get proper housing and other infrastructure such as schools and clinics.

Others are complaining that they were not consulted in the planning stages of the relocation while others want to be given free seed and fertiliser that they were promised as part of the relocation package.

Mangoma said the government was working on the best plan possible to humanely relocate people from Chiadzwa.

“We are taking the issue of relocation seriously and we would want people’s human rights to be respected,” said Mangoma.

Additional Reporting: The Zimbabwe Times