Published: 18 March 2014

Mbada Diamonds (Pvt) Ltd., working in Zimbabwe's eastern Marange fields, will switch to underground mining from surface digging, escalating investment in the region.

Mbada, in a 50:50 joint venture with state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corp., will "invest heavily in conglomerate and kimberlitic" mining, the company said today in a statement handed to reporters in the capital, Harare, and published in newspapers.

"The new phase of mining will require extensive capital, which is the company's primary objective" this year, the diamond explorer said.

Conglomerate and kimberlitic diamonds are found deep below the earth, compared with alluvial stones on or just beneath the surface. Mbada didn't say whether it had identified deposits.

The company, the largest diamond mining employer with 1,700 staff, said on March 11 that its annual sales have exceeded $1 billion after four years in operation. It also says it paid $424 million in taxes, dividends, and Government advances last year.

Mbada mines the Marange fields alongside Anjin Investments, the Diamond Mining Co., Gye Nyame, Jinan Mining, Kusena and Marange Resources, all in joint ventures with Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation.

- Bloomberg

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