Alrosa Partners with Zimbabwe Mining Company

RAPAPORT... Alrosa has agreed to a joint venture with nationalminer Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) for exploring new diamondprojects in the country. The deal, which provides Alrosa with a 70% stake in any newgreenfield deposits, encompasses geological exploration, diamond mining andindependent sales of rough stones to external markets, the Russian miner saidTuesday. "We are committed to productive work in the exploration ofnew, promising areas and subsequent diamond mining," explained Alrosa deputyCEO Vladimir Marchenko. "Our specialists have been working in Zimbabwe for morethan three months now, and the national authorities have been of great supportto them. We have chosen various projects for the joint venture, and part of[those] will be launched this autumn." The company is primarily considering areas located in theChimanimani region of Zimbabwe, Marchenko noted, stressing that Alrosa did notplan any operations in Marange, despite recent reports indicating it wasconsidering the move. Zimbabwe's Marange fields were a source of contention,after state security forces killed nearly 200 citizens in 2008 in an effort toclamp down on informal mining, resulting in the country's removal from theKimberley Process (KP). The KP reinstated Zimbabwe in 2011, but US sanctionsagainst Marange diamonds remain in place. "Alrosa only explores and considers the feasibility [in] other parts of the country," it said. "[The company] has never, and under nocircumstances, considered, and won't consider, the possibility of entering theMarange region." In December, the miner established Alrosa Zimbabwe Limited,an affiliate company that will oversee all projects in the country. Image: Rough diamonds. (Alrosa)