Rudo Saungweme

In a bid to promote value addition, Kenako Diamond Processing Pvt Ltd commissioned a new Diamond Cleaning plant which processes 110 000 carats over a 24 hour deep-boiling cycle, Harare Post has learnt.

Speaking to Harare Post in an interview on condition of anonymity, a source said the new diamond plant had potential to improve the value of the country’s diamonds.

“Kenako`s new diamond deep-boiling acid process removes redundant material from diamonds, which exposes their colour, quality and potentially improves the value of diamonds by up to 70 percent. This process outweighs the usual deep-boiling cycle which improves the value of diamonds by about 30 percent,” said the source.

The source also said the new diamond plant had resulted in the improvement of the diamonds quality leading to their reclassification.

“The Mineral Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) diamond valuers recorded that 10 percent of Kenako`s boart diamonds were resultantly reclassified as gem, while about 40 percent were reclassified as near gem,” said the source.

Kenako Diamond Processing Company was set up in 2016 to clean diamonds to add value before they are exported.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa is on record emphasising the need for value addition indicating that Zimbabweans should fully exploit resources in order to industrialise the economy. The President has also since said that the country should go beyond the current level where it exports primary products which do not earn significant value when no value is added.