Major diamond hub for Mt Hampden

19 Oct, 2014 - 06:10 0 Views
Major diamond hub for Mt Hampden Diamond cutters and polishers using some of the diamond value adding technology at the Zimbabwe Diamond Centre at Mt Hampden

The Sunday Mail

Diamond cutters and polishers using some of the diamond value adding technology at the Zimbabwe Diamond Centre at Mt Hampden

Diamond cutters and polishers using some of the diamond value adding technology at the Zimbabwe Diamond Centre at Mt Hampden

Government has mandated selected colleges to manufacture diamond-cutting and polishing equipment for use at the proposed Non-Aligned Movement (Nam) Technology Centre in Mt Hampden.

Zimbabwe is hosting the centre which will process, value-add and sell minerals under a model similar to Belgian Antwerp World Diamond Centre.

The Sunday Mail has established that the Government has already identified Harare Polytechnic, Harare Institute of Technology, Kwekwe Polytechnic and Mutare Polytechnic to manufacture the diamond value adding machines.

NAM National focus person Mrs Rungano Karimanzira said the manufacturing of the machines is expected to commence soon.

The development follows President Mugabe’s invitation for NAM to set up the centre in Zimbabwe last month.

Once established, the centre will be a hub for the value addition of the gems with NAM’s 16 member states in Africa and their affiliate organisations providing infrastructure to make it a world class venture.

Mrs Karimanzira said the first steps of the initiative have seen the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology partnering with the Zimbabwe Diamond Centre for the value addition of diamonds.

She said a multinational taskforce that includes Zimbabwe, Uganda and South Africa have endorsed the ZDC to set up the probationary structures for the NAM Centre.

“As a starting point for the initiative, we have decided to begin with the value addition of diamonds. With time, we will move into other minerals,” said Mrs Karimanzira.

During his visit to Zimbabwe, NAM Director Professor Arun Kulreshtha said after the setting up of the taskforce, the next stage would be to prepare a legal framework for designated mineral market places and commodity exchanges.

The framework is expected to be presented both to the African Union and NAM Heads of State Summits.

Cutting and polishing of diamonds is identified as one of the low hanging fruits for the cluster of value addition and beneficiation in the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset) economic blueprint.

The centre for Natural Resources Governance estimates that if Zimbabwe cuts and polishes its diamonds, it can realise $8 billion revenue and create over 200 000 jobs.

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