Ownership
From the early 1980s, De Beers held an Exclusive Prospecting Order (EPO) over Marange via their subsidiary Kimberlitic Searches Ltd. Their EPO expired in 2006 and exploration rights were taken up by British-registered African Consolidated Resources. Production from Marange is controversial due to ongoing legal wrangles and government crackdowns on illegal miners. In December 2006, the company was readying trial mining operations when the Government of Zimbabwe took over the rights via the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, despite African Consolidated Resources winning a court case allowing them to continue mining.
In April 2010 the High Court of Zimbabwe ruled that the government could sell diamonds from Marange as it dismissed an application from British-based African Consolidated Resources to stop diamond sales from the disputed fields.
In September 2010, the Zimbabwe High Court formally revoked a ruling from a year earlier that restored mining rights to British-based, African Consolidated Resources Plc.
The Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) owns 100% shareholding in Marange Resources which is engaged in diamond mining in Chiadzwa.
Read more about this topic: Marange Diamond Fields
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