4 “One method of quantifying the value of a deposit is to measure the carats per 100 tonnes of ore. ACR’s CEO, Andrew Cranswick claims Marange produces 4,000 carats per 100 tonnes. The numbers for Zimbabwe’s two kimberlite sites, Rio Tinto’s operation in Murowa and River Ranch near Beit Bridge, are positively pedestrian by comparison, averaging 60-80 carats and 25-30, respectively”, said PAC. 11 River Ranch, like Marange, is steeped in controversy. According to ACR, Marange produces 4,000 carats per 100 tonnes, and that the top five percent are “very serious gems”, while another five percent are “decent quality”. 12 4 BACKGROUND TO MARANGE MINING CLAIMS From the early 1990s, South African diamond mining conglomerate De Beers started prospecting in the Marange area, about 100km south west of Mutare. Geologists interviewed by Human Rights Watch (HRW), in its report, “Diamonds in the Rough” (June 2009), estimated the diamond fields to be spread over a 26-square-kilometre area. 13 In 2001, De Beers’ geologists were in the fields on a kimberlite prospecting programme and it was at this point that alluvial diamond deposits were discovered. However, the stones were low value and it was only later that high value gems –which in their estimation constituted about 10% of the total were found. HRW explained the situation from 2002 as follows: “Initially, the government’s plan was for the Marange fields to be developed privately. From March 2002 to March 2006, Kimberlitic Searches, a subsidiary of …. De Beers, operated under two ‘Exclusive Prospecting Orders’ (EPO 1520 and 1523) from the government of Zimbabwe, granting it full exploration rights to search for minerals in the Marange communal area. The exploration certificates expired on March 28, 2006, and De Beers did not renew them.” 14 Their decision needs to be seen in the context of the prevailing political climate. The violent farm invasions, carried out with the government’s logistical support, had started in 2000 and the chaos and lawlessness which continued to plague the country was not conducive to significant investment. 9 Partnership Africa Canada, ‘Diamonds and Clubs’, June 2010, pg 14: http://www.pacweb.org/Documents/diamonds_KP/Zimbabwe-Diamonds_and_clubs-eng-June2010.pdf 10 SW Radio Africa, ‘Cranswick says South Africa ‘crooks’ holding Zim to Ransom (Part 2) 2 April, 2011: http://www.swradioafrica.com/pages/hotseat080410.htm 11 Partnership Africa Canada, ‘Diamonds and Clubs’, June 2010, pg 14: http://www.pacweb.org/Documents/diamonds_KP/Zimbabwe-Diamonds_and_clubs-eng-June2010.pdf 12 Partnership Africa Canada, ‘Diamonds and Clubs’, June 2010, pg 14: http://www.pacweb.org/Documents/diamonds_KP/Zimbabwe-Diamonds_and_clubs-eng-June2010.pdf 13 Human Rights Watch, ‘Diamonds in the Rough’, June 2009, pg 12: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2009/06/26/diamonds-rough 14 Human Rights Watch, ‘Diamonds in the Rough’, June 2009, pg 13: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2009/06/26/diamonds-rough