A Zimbabwean cabinet minister has disclosed that preliminary studies pointed to the existence of large deposits of diamonds in three of the country’s districts and the government was setting up a body to speed up exploration activities to determine the extent of the deposits.
Mines Minister Obert Mpofu told the state-run Sunday Mail that preliminary studies indicated of the existence of diamonds in Binga in the north of Zimbabwe close to the border with Zambia as well as Masvingo along the highway to South Africa and Tsholotsho in the west of the country.
He said his ministry was in the process of short-listing candidates to head the proposed Zimbabwe Minerals Explorations Corporation (ZMEC), a company that would help the government to determine the entire mineral wealth of the country.
The discovery of diamonds in the three districts is expected to turn Zimbabwe into one of the world’s largest producers of the mineral.
Industry experts say the southern African country already has the capacity to produce more than 25 percent of the world’s total diamond output from its three existing mines.
The most popular is the controversial Marange fields located close to the border with Mozambique where the army has been accused of human rights abuses.
Source African Press Agency
African News from NetNewsPublisher.com
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