Zimbabwe on Wednesday opened the first sale of diamonds from its Marange fields since international regulators partially lifted a ban.
Gemstone finds in the country’s wild east have brought spies and paranoia and turned Mutare into frontier town.
It was in June 2006 that diamonds were first discovered by villagers in Marange, a rural area of Chiadzwa, 90km south-west of Mutare.
Zimbabwe’s mining minister says the country will go ahead and sell its diamonds without approval from the world diamond control body.
Members of a diamond watchdog have failed to reach consensus on whether to allow Zimbabwe to resume trade in gems from its Marange fields.
Talks between members of the Kimberley Process diamond watchdog were deadlocked on Thursday over whether to allow Zimbabwe to resume trade.
Zimbabwe has met minimum conditions set by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme and could start exporting the precious stones.
Zimbabwe has banned exports of diamonds until the Kimberley Process regulator approves the sale of gems from a field plagued by human rights abuses.