Exploration for diamonds in Sese communal lands in Chivi by Murowa Diamond Company is promising, but inconclusive on whether the area has gems that can be commercially exploited.
Murowa, now officially known as RZM Murowa (Pvt) Limited, has been combing for gems in Chivi for the past two years, as it seeks more resources in the quest to achieve the US$12 billion mining industry by 2023.
The diamond firm has more than 200 claims in the area, which reportedly has kimberlites, believed to have diamonds.
Murowa, which is one of the four firms permitted under Government’s diamond policy to extract diamonds has been exploring the Sese area since 2018.
Kimberlites in the area are thought to be along the same belt where Murowa has been mining diamonds at its mine in the Mazvihwa area in neighbouring Zvishavane.
Chivi and Zvishavane share a border and Runde River bisects the two districts.
Mr Islam Chipango, the vice president at RZM Murowa in charge of human resources and administration, said the exploration has not yielded conclusive results.
“We have been doing exploration on our claims in Sese for quite some time and I can say the results look promising, but for now they are inconclusive,” said Mr Chipango.
“Like any other mining house, we expect good results. We hope to find what we are looking for, but so far there is nothing conclusive. We have not yet done all the tasks that we set out to do before making a conclusion.
“We are keen to support the nation to achieve its target of a US$12 billion mining industry by 2023 and we cannot achieve that without exploring for new deposits.”
He hinted that RZM Murowa would inform the nation about any new developments in Sese, adding that the firm “is going to continue its exploration work in Sese for some time to come.”
The firm has been at loggerheads with locals for its exploration work, a development downplayed by Mr Chipango, who however, expressed optimism that the relations will improve going forward.