ZIMBABWE NETZWERK e.V.

Marange diamonds lose global shine

New Zimbabwe writes:" (...) Alluvial diamond projects tend to have a much shorter life span than open-pit or underground projects, as the resource is limited to the easily assessable surface stones, which can be produced rather easily and rapidly. While Marange is a relatively new project with formal mining only commencing 5 years ago, there are already indications that most of economic resource has been depleted.

(...) The Marange fields are economic even with a low average price-per-carat diamond because the alluvial mining process is relatively inexpensive; in 2011 the ZMDC estimated that the average cost of production of a Marange diamond is $19-30 per carat, while the global average is around $65 per carat. But once all of the easily accessible surface diamonds have been claimed, the project may no longer be economic, as the cost to produce the same quality diamonds at depth could exceed the economic benefit. (...)".