Old Mutual and Zimbabwe diamonds
The Star, 12.11.09
By Peta Thornycroft
South Africa's Old Mutual has nearly a six percent share in a South African
company which is now mining diamonds on claims in eastern Zimbabwe where
atrocities have taken place,
The new companies now mining this area are doing so despite a September
order from the Harare High Court which says parts of these diamond claims
belong to British company, African Consolidated Resources, plc.
The court confirmed ACR had leased the claims legitimately from 2006 and
ordered all others, including the Zimbabwe security forces, to leave the
area, so that development could take place.
Zimbabwe's mining minister Obert Mpofu has ignored the High Court order and
announced the new deal Wednesday in the Zanu PF controlled daily newspaper
the Herald.
He made the announcement ignoring international concern backed up by
detailed reports of gross human rights abuses by Zimbabwe security forces
against informal miners and their families, during an army crackdown last
year, on the diamond site known as Chiadzwa, in the Marange district in the
eastern Manicaland Province.
The deal announced by Mpofu is a joint venture with parastatal, Zimbabwe
Mining Development Corporation, which is listed on EU and United States list
of restricted companies, and two newly formed businesses, one of which
involves New Reclamation Group (Pvt) Ltd.
Old Mutual is listed as nearly six percent shareholder in Johannesburg
based, New Reclamation Group.
Old Mutual have not answered phone messages or emails sent to them last week
to ask if they are aware of what has taken place at Chiadzwa since ACR was
evicted from their claims, and whether they were aware of the order given by
Judge Charles Hungwe on September 24 confirming ACR's rights to the sites.
New Reclamation, whose executive chairman David Kassel, also ignored
questions put to him repeatedly by Independent Newspapers, has quit his
position to work full time on the Zimbabwe diamond deal on commission basis
according to details of a meeting of shareholders.
There is a growing and complex trail of companies, trusts, and individuals
now shareholders in operations at Chiadzwa, including a former air vice
Marshall of the Zimbabwe Airforce, Robert Mhlanga, now in Sandton, a one
time South African mercenary, diamond dealers from Belgium and Israel, and
a host of other individuals, mostly South Africans who must believe they
will make instant wealth from the mostly alluvial stones.
New Reclamation Group's interests are held in a company called Grandwell
Holdings established in Mauritius which is in a JV on ACR's northern claim
in the Marange district.
A new company, Mbada, still to be registered in Zimbabwe, in which Grandwell
is incorporated, was named by Mpofu as one of the two companies in which the
ZMDC has a joint venture.
Mpofu said the second joint venture, on the southern part of ACR's claims
has been awarded to another newly established company, Candile Miners (Pvt)
Ltd which has two directors, Dominic Mubaiywa, also managing director of the
state mining parastatal, and another Zimbabwean, Lovemore Kurotwi, related
to or connected with some powerful people in President Robert Mugabe's Zanu
PF.
Candile Miners produced a video screened at the Kimberley Process plenary
meeting in Namibia earlier this month to defend Zimbabwe's human rights
record on the diamond claims.
Andrew Cranswick, CEO of ACR said last week that his company would seek
legal redress for violation of its claims. "We will go to court wherever we
can, and in particular anyone who buys stones from our claims must realise
they will be buying stolen property."
Several international human rights organisations, Global Witness among them,
have collected data over the last two years of informal miners killed by
Zimbabwe security forces.
Others, including young women connected with some of the artisanal miners
have signed affidavits that they have been beaten and raped, because of the
conflict diamonds.
The value of the stones on ACR's claims which have been dug up by tens of
thousands of informal miners, police and army members since 2006, is still
not fully established.
De Beers, which previously had the leases of the claims now owned by ACR
handed them back to the government of Zimbabwe in 2006.
Despite the uncertainty of the quantity and quality of gem stones at
Chiadzwa, diamond dealers have flocked to buy them off informal miners,
mainly in Mozambique, where trading rough diamonds is not illegal.
There are many accounts of small fortunes having been made: not by the
informal miners, but by middle men trading the stones