By Byron Mutingwende
Lovemore Kurotwi, the chairman of the Zimbabwe Diamond Technology Centre (ZDTC) has urged government to seriously pursue mineral beneficiation in order to fulfill the objectives of ZimAsset.
Speaking to delegates of the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) Science and Technology Conference in Harare recently, Kurotwi said the ZDTC would create thousands of jobs for locals.
“The centre will accommodate 500 companies each of which with a capacity to hold 200 diamond cutters and polishers. Thus when fully operational the centre will create more than 100, 000 jobs,” Kurotwi said.
Among the positives associated with value addition are the potential it has to increases the export value of primary commodities and protection against abrupt declines in commodity prices.
Kurotwi added that producers of rough diamonds globally share US$14 billion annually, those in cutting and polishing US$42 billion while those who sell jewellery share a whopping $US71 billion.
“With Zimbabwe believed to produce more than 25 percent of the world’s rough diamonds, it is incumbent upon us to produce finished products so that we can get nearly a quarter of the US$71 billion,” Kurotwi said.
Other knock-on effects within the wider economy that may accrue from value addition include employment creation, knowledge, and capacity building in downstream and upstream industries associated with mining.
