DIAMONDS: Russian and Zimbabwe state-owned diamond miners form JV

ZIMBABWE – The world’s top diamond producer by output, Alrosa and the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company have signed a joint venture agreement to develop diamond deposits in this country. Under the terms of the agreement between the state-owned companies, Alrosa will get a 70% controlling stake for the development of greenfield projects while ZCDC will get the remaining 30%. Starting in the fall of 2019, the JV will focus on geological exploration of greenfield deposits. Once there are some results from these initial activities, the miners will consider co-operating in diamond mining and independent sale of rough diamonds in external markets. In a media statement, Alrosa and ZCDC said the joint venture will be able to work not only with the licenses ZCDC has today, particularly those in the Chimanimani region, but also in the entire country. “In case a new prospective area is discovered, the company will contact directly the Zimbabwe Ministry of Mines and Mining Development requesting a new license for this area,” the press release reads. In December 2018, Alrosa established an affiliated company in the African country, Alrosa (Zimbabwe) Limited, for the implementation of projects in mineral prospecting, exploration and mining operations with a view to creating joint diamond mining and other mining enterprises. This story first appeared on www.Mining.com.