ALROSA and the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC), a diamond mining company, have entered into an agreement to create a joint venture for prospect and exploration works for primary diamond deposits in the Republic of Zimbabwe.
The agreement was signed by Sergey Ivanov, ALROSA CEO, and Killian Ukama, Eng., a Non-Executive Board Chairman of ZCDC., according to the ALROSA website.
According to the agreements, ALROSA owns 70% of ALROSA (Zimbabwe) Limited JV, Zimbabwean state-owned diamond mining company gets 30%
Zimbabwe previously barred foreign-owned companies from earning more than 49% in diamond and platinum projects.
However, Harare decided to drop its indigenisation policy following the deposing of the late president Robert Mugabe in 2017.
ALROSA chief executive Sergey Ivanov previously said his company will invest an initial $12 million in the venture.
According to him, ALROSA sees a lot of potential and will invest more in the coming years depending on the outcome of the exploration.
Victoria Quiri, Correspondent of the European Bureau, Rough&Polished, Strasbourg