According to reports, Zimbabwe�s President Robert Mugabe has clearly stated that all future diamond mining in the country would be controlled by the state. He cited smuggling activity by the exploration companies and an illegal wave of prospecting in the Marange district.

Mugabe added that diamonds would now fall into a �special category�. He also accused mining companies of illegally selling the gems they find � a charge that the World Diamond Council and the Kimberley Process are currently investigating.

Last December, the government revoked the title to the Marange deposit, held at the time by African Consolidated Resources plc (ACR), after news of a find sent thousands of miners rushing to the region. The area was later fenced off and the title awarded to the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, a state-run firm.