by John Welford

Created on: February 12, 2009   Last Updated: July 09, 2010

Diamonds are one of the world's most precious minerals, in high demand the world over. Until recently, the mining of diamonds in Zimbabwe has been little known about, the small scattered deposits being nowhere near the scale of those in Botswana and South Africa, whose diamond reserves are well known worldwide.

The mining of diamonds in Zimbabwe dates back as far as the mid-nineteenth century, and this was a chief reason why Cecil John Rhodes sought to acquire territory in the land to the north of the Limpopo. This became Rhodesia, a country named after him. Rhodes had already made a huge fortune through gold and diamond mining in South Africa, and he now aimed to extend his riches. After successive wars and rebellions in the years 1896-1899, Rhodes started to gain mineral rights in Matabeleland, although he was disappointed that the reserves did not match his expectations.

In 1923, Southern Rhodesia (which became Zimbabwe) was annexed to the British crown, and this in effect meant that its African inhabitants became British subjects. However, the Land Apportionment Act of 1930 stipulated that half of the total land area, including all mining and industrial regions, was to be reserved for Europeans. This was the inspiration for renewed prospecting for minerals in Southern Rhodesia. However, although gold mining developed in the country, diamond mining was little known about.

In 1997, the Rio Tinto Group, best known for mining gold in Zimbabwe, discovered a diamond site at Murowa in south central Zimbabwe, some 40 km from Zvishavane. It is said that three diamond-bearing kimberlite pipes were discovered over a period of three years of study. Construction of mining facilities took seven years, thus they were completed in 2004. Rio Tinto Group relocated 926 people to six farms purchased by a government relocation programme. Limited mining operations started in 2004, with full-scale capacity achieved by 2005 with the expectation of processing 200,000 tonnes of ore annually. Murowa diamond mine is a combination of open pit and underground construction. Current estimates of mine reserves are said to stand at 19 million tons of ore.

Diamonds were discovered in 2006 in the Chiadzwa area of Marange District, some 90km southwest of Mutate, the biggest city in the province. This discovery had a dramatic impact in awakening the country from a deep slumber. Diamond mining here has created a new "El Dorado", attracting people of many different nationalities, such as Lebanese,

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