Indian Ambassador Urges Value-Addition of Diamonds

Harare: Zimbabwe should partner with other countries to establish a diamond cutting and polishing centre if the country is to benefit from value-addition of its gemstones, Indian ambassador to Zimbabwe, Rungsung Masakui has said.

The Indian envoy made the remarks at a public lecture titled Unlocking Zimbabwe’s Gemstone Wealth: Lessons from India, which he presented at Midlands State University last Friday.

This came amid reports by mining experts that the country was losing millions of dollars in potential revenue due to lack of a minerals beneficiation policy.

“Structural deficiencies affecting gemstone mining and processing in Zimbabwe is due to the fact that the country has not yet established a gemstone cutting and processing centre,” Masakui said.

“In this light, it is imperative for Zimbabwe to partner with friendly countries in order to establish a gemstone cutting and processing centre, while also embarking on innovative marketing of lesser-known gemstones.”

Masakui said the establishment of diamond processing facilities in India had turned the Asian country into a global leader processing at least 60% of the world’s diamonds.

He said the value of processed diamond exports in India had grown to $39 billion at the end of 2015, with the diamond processing industry contributing about 15% of the country’s gross domestic product.

Over the years Zimbabwe has been urged to set up processing plants to ensure the country gets maximum value for its minerals.

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