Russia’s Alrosa and the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) have signed a number of agreements to finalize the creation of a joint venture for prospecting and exploration works for primary diamond deposits in the African country, Finam.ru reports.
According to the agreements, Alrosa, the largest diamond mining company in the world by volume, owns 70 percent of the Alrosa (Zimbabwe) Limited JV, with state-owned ZCDC getting 30 percent.
The Russian mining company established Alrosa (Zimbabwe) Limited in December 2018. In July 2019, the two companies signed a memorandum of agreement to transform it into a JV for prospecting, exploration and, in case of success, mining of primary diamond deposits in Zimbabwe.
“We are focused toward productive prospecting and exploration for primary diamond deposits in the Republic of Zimbabwe,” said Alrosa CEO Sergey Ivanov. “Signing current agreements allows us to form the company’s administration and to initiate procedures required to get necessary permissions and licenses.”
Zimbabwe previously banned foreign companies from holding more than 49% in diamond and platinum projects. However, the Harare authorities decided to abandon their indigenization policy after the resignation of the late President Robert Mugabe in 2017.
Alrosa CEO Sergey Ivanov previously stated that his company will invest $12 million in the new joint venture.
