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RUSSIAN State-owned mining concern, ALROSA, plans to assess the quality of Zimbabwe’s diamond reserves over the next six months with the aim of starting mining operations.

The mining group, which is one of the world’s top diamond producers, announced during President Mnangagwa’s State visit to Russia in January that it was launching diamond operations in the country with the support of the Government.

ALROSA chief executive officer Mr Sergey Ivanov was quoted by Reuters on Monday as saying: 

“Of course we’ll only be ready to participate in projects in cases where we can have management control and operational control of the assets”.

Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube recently said the Government was considering scrapping the remaining 51/49 percent shareholding threshhold for platinum and diamond mining to allow investors to own 100 percent of any business in the sector.

When the indigenisation and economic empowerment regulations were scrapped in 2017, Government had decided to restrict the policy to platinum and diamond mining entities only.

However, the State mulls further relaxation of the indigenisation laws in the diamond and platinum sectors to attract new investments especially the diamond mining operations in Marange, which is presently dominated by the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company, a Government-owned firm.

The Russian mining group is on record as saying it was setting up operations in Zimbabwe following negotiations it held with the Government in 2018.

It is hoped that the mining group’s entity in Zimbabwe will implement projects for exploration and mining operations with a view to establish a joint diamond and other ore mining enterprises.

ALROSA accounts for 27 percent of global rough diamond production in terms of carats.

The company operates 11 kimberlite pipes and 16 alluvial deposits in Yakutia and Arkhangelsk Region of Russia.

The company is also a leader in terms of social responsibility, spending $150-200 million a year for social projects and $100 million for the environment.

Besides rough diamond mining, ALROSA has its own in-house cutting and polishing division, Diamonds ALROSA.

— Reuters/Business Chronicle