ZIMBABWE’S diamond industry faces a “murky” future and outlook due to a number of operational challenges, including a depressed international market, statutory obligations and the emergence of synthetic diamonds, which could affect its performance.
This comes as one of the world’s largest gem producers, Botswana, has renegotiated its Debswana joint venture agreement with De Beers and Harare has classified the precious mineral as a critical component of its US$40 billion annual mining sector earnings by 2030 at a time key producers such as Murowa are struggling big time.