Vast Resources has announced that it expects to finalize its mining agreement on the Community Diamond Concession in Marange, Manicaland Province.
This comes after the High Court of Zimbabwe granted a default order relating to a historic parcel of 129 400 ct of rough diamonds which was held by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) for the past 12 years.
Vast Resources surrendered the diamonds, due to claims that it had exploited them on claims previously owned by De Beers, a Johannesburg Securities Exchange-listed company. Bizarrely, De Beers left the Chiadzwa diamond fields in 2006, stating that it had failed to find viable reserves after a decade of exploration.
Vast Resources, which operates as a multi-resource company and trades its stock on the London Stock Exchange’s alternative investment markets, sued the government over the parcel and successfully won the case. With the release of the diamond parcel, Vast Resources now intends to finalize its diamond mining agreement.
According to the diamond policy, only four companies are currently permitted to mine diamonds in Zimbabwe, namely RioZim Murowa Diamonds, Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC), Alrosa Zimbabwe and Anjin. Under the new diamond policy, the Government through ZCDC will hold 46 per cent and the local community trusts — will be the 5 per cent indigenous partners of any foreign investor who intends to undertake diamond mining activities in Zimbabwe.
It, however, is not clear if Vast, a former shareholder of the now Dallaglio Investment-owned Pickstone Peerless gold mine, will be added to that list.
In its latest market update, the Vast announced plans to finalise its diamond mining agreement once the parcel is released.
“In Zimbabwe, the company is preparing for the release of its diamonds previously mined by the company and preparing for their marketing,” the firm said.
“Upon the finalisation of the process, the company will recommence its focus on the finalisation of the mining agreement on the Community Diamond Concession in the Marange diamond fields,” it noted.
Vast has mining interests in Zimbabwe’s Chiadzwa diamond fields and is currently fine-tuning a joint venture (JV) deal with communities in the area.
In September 2019, Vast said it had signed a JV agreement with Chiadzwa Mineral Resources, a company designated to represent community interests in the concession.
This resulted in the formation of Katanga Mining.
A further JV agreement between Katanga and the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamonds Corporation, a government entity is set to be officially signed.