HARARE, Mar 8 (Xinhua): Leading diamond mining firms in Zimbabwe are struggling against dwindling deposit and liquidity crunch, company sources revealed Friday, stoking fears that the mining sector boon that sustained the country's near double-digit economic growth since in the past four years might soon end.
Zimbabwe's diamond mining concentrates in the eastern region of Marange, near the border with Mozambique. There are seven companies licensed to mine diamond in Marange fields, accounting for more than 80 per cent of the country's diamond output, which is estimated to have reached 11 million carats in 2013.
Diamond Mining Company (DMC), a joint venture between Pure Diamond of the United Arab Emirates and the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC), said alluvial diamond deposits at its claim were diminishing.
"Yes, they are running out. We do not have any conglomerate or kimberlitic deposits. We are mostly doing alluvial and the grade is going down. The resources are greatly depleted and we are facing a challenge in production," DMC general manager Ramzi Malik told Xinhua in a follow up interview after presenting oral evidence before a parliamentary committee.
He said the available reserves could only last them two to three years, adding that the company had since asked government for a new concession.
The government says Zimbabwe holds estimated diamond reserves of 16.5 million tonnes. But mining officials have hinted that they won't consider giving mining firms new concessions until the existing ones finish.
Anjin Investment, a 50/50 joint venture between China's Anhui Foreign Economic Construction Company and the ZMDC, also complained that it was facing serious financial problems as a result of depleting diamond reserves at its claim.
Anjin board member responsible for corporate affairs Munyaradzi Machacha told a parliamentary committee that the company, which employs about 850 people, was struggling.
"The company is in survival mode. Our resources have dwindled and we are receiving low grade. Our prices are the lowest in the Marange diamond area," Machacha said.
