International diamond watchdog due in Zimbabwe

HARARE, May 27 (Xinhua) -- A team from the Kimberley Process, an international diamond trade watchdog, is due in Zimbabwe shortly to audit operations of the local industry, officials said on Wednesday.

Zimbabwe's diamond industry has come under international spotlight in recent years, in particular over suspected illegal mining and smuggling of the precious gems at Chiadzwa in Marange, according to local media New Ziana.

There were also suspicions and allegations that security forces deployed in Marange to secure the diamond deposits had killed scores of illegal panners, heightening calls for an international probing into the local industry.

Government critics joined the fray, and tried to prod the Kimberley Process to order a ban on Zimbabwe diamond trade. Officials said it was against this background that the team from the Kimberley Process, drawn from countries such as Canada, Namibia, South Africa and the United States, was visiting Zimbabwe.

But earlier claims of diamond smuggling at River Ranch Mine inBeitbridge were dismissed by another Kimberley Process team in 2007.

The new team, which is expected in Zimbabwe either later this week or next week, was expected to visit all the country's three diamond mines - River Ranch, Murowa and Chiadzwa to inspect their operations.

"We are ready for them. This will put all the speculation to rest," an official, who declined to be named on account of the sensitivity of the issue, was quoted as saying.

Zimbabwean diamond industry has in recent years become a major component of the local mining sector, with experts predicting thatthe precious mineral and platinum will become the top foreign currency earners for the country in the near future.

The Chiadzwa deposits, for example, are the largest concentrated reserves in the world. The reserves remain largely unexploited, and the area around Chiadzwa is still to be fully explored to ascertain the extent of the deposits.

Industry sources said more diamond deposits have been found elsewhere in the country, sparking intense jostling for mining rights among local and international players.