Sunday, October 04, 2009

UK Firm wants Marage (blood diamonds mine) back

from the UKGuardian:

...Aim-listed African Consolidated Resources bought mining rights to the Marange diamond fields in February 2006 but was evicted eight months later. That prompted illegal public mining of the site, followed by a violent and bloody backlash by the Zimbabwean military in which it is alleged 200 people were killed.

After it was evicted, ACR launched a legal battle to challenge the decision and regain control of the 100,000-acre field. Last week, it won its case in the Zimbabwe high court when Justice Charles Hungwe told the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, now in possession of the site, to stop mining the fields, and ordered the power-sharing government to restore ownership to the firm..."

The blood diamond part came after the gov't threw them out, and locals mined the place illegally. But then the government decided they wanted the diamonds

"...The crackdown saw widespread arrests, beatings and killings of anyone suspected of involvement in unsanctioned diamond mining or smuggling. Soldiers threw up a massive cordon around the diamond fields as the military were given free rein in return for wealth and, some say, continued support for the Mugabe regime..."

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