By Business Reporter – Wednesday 10 February 2021
HARARE (Mining Index) – NAN JIANG AFRICA is an abandoned diamond mine located in Bikita close to Save Valley Conservancy that was set up at the height of the Marange diamond fiasco.
A consortium of Chinese and Zimbabwean firms registered Nan Jiang Africa Resources Ltd.
However, the mine was closed prematurely due to a dispute with Ministry of Mines and Mining Development (MoMMD) following reports that the mine had set up offices and processing facilities before submitting the application for a mining license.
The company had built structures for more than 100 workers from Bikita and Buhera.
In March 2013, it was reported that, diamonds were discovered in four kimberlite pipes, in Devuli Ranch in Bikita by this consortium.
Since the consortium had a prospecting license alone, upon expiration they left without any recorded production as expected, reporting that there were no diamonds on the mine site.
This misrepresentation of information calls for Government action to invest in exploration to increase information in ministry’s geological database. The mine never operated since it was set in 2014.
The Nan Jiang fiasco demonstrates how companies lost money in the diamond rush in areas around Marange.
A massive loss in capital was discernible. The mine invested in mining equipment, a processing plant and diamond sorting facilities.
Socially, the community expressed concern over the company’s failure to adequately consult them and to give them information on the nature of their operations and reasons for termination of operations.
Presently, even the security guards who used to man and protect the big mining complex which houses the mine offices and diamond sorting room appears to have abandoned the site.
The Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) met some of the former workers in Village 2 in Bikita who expressed disappointment with the company.
Villagers in the area reported that the company had told them that they have not been getting enough quantities of diamonds for them to continue mining.
For the villagers, the potential for diamond mining in the area had brought hope for employment of youths in the drought prone Budzi area in Bikita. ENDS// www.miningindex.co.zw
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