Diamond mining companies in Marange have been ordered by the government of Zimbabwe to stop their operations immediately, as per reports. This decision follows as the government says the companies’ licences have expired.

According to reports, nine mining firms operate in the east of Zimbabwe near Mozambique. The companies have not renewed their special grants, causing the government to take this stance, which is not negotiable, as per reports. The Minister of Mines and Mining Development Walter Chidhakwa noted that the mining companies no longer held valid titles over the areas where they were conducting their activity, as per reports.

This development follows the government’s plans of consolidating diamond mining operations into a single company - Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company, to effect efficiency and transparency. This had stirred a strife between the mining companies and the government.

Reports also suggest that Chidhakwa noted that state-owned Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) would hold all the diamond claims in the country, but the state would not be nationalising the mines, as per reports. He also noted that the concession will be in the state. The mining companies have been given 90 days to leave and take their equipment and assets with them, reports say.