Zimbabwe halts disputed diamond sale

Zimbabwe on Thursday halted the sale of 300 000 carats of diamonds from a field plagued by rights abuses, saying the auction
did not have approval from government or the global diamond trade monitor.

The diamonds came from the eastern Marange fields, where the Kimberley Process—set up to stop the sale of blood diamonds—has documented widespread rights abuses by Zimbabwe’s military against civilians.

After a rebuke from Kimberley, Zimbabwe handed control of the fields to two South African firms, who on Thursday had begun a three-day auction of the gems in Harare, with 80% of the revenue going to the government, according to state media.

But secretary for mines Thankful Musukutwa told a news conference that government had stopped the auction because it had not yet won approval from the Kimberley Process (KP) or national authorities.

“No export will take place prior to certification by the KP monitor,” he said.

“The public, and the diamond community in particular, is therefore being advised that there will be no sales or exports of diamonds ... in Marange until all government regulations and [Kimberley] requirements are observed in their entirety.”

Augustine Rukwaya, CEO of Mbada Diamonds, one of the two companies running the Marange fields, said no sales were made before the auction was halted.

“Buying diamonds is a very complex process,” he said.

In November, Zimbabwe escaped a ban on its international diamond sales by the Kimberley Process.

A Kimberley investigation earlier had found “unacceptable and horrific violence against civilians by authorities”, including forced labour, torture and beatings by soldiers against villagers.

Despite calls for Zimbabwe’s suspension over abuses in Marange, the global body gave Harare a June 2010 deadline to make reforms to comply with its regulations.

Zimbabwe went into partnership with two South African-owned firms, including Mbada, to extract diamonds in October.

The following month, Mines Minister Obert Mpofu said that soldiers and police had withdrawn from the fields and that Zimbabwe had complied with more than 90% of the reforms set by Kimberley.