The Government of Zimbabwe is looking hopefully at the country's Umkondo Basin, hoping that it will prove to contain vast stores of precious gems, Diamond Intelligence reports. Zimbabwe Mines and Mining Development Deputy Minister Fred Moyo announced that federal funds would be used to explore the basin for diamonds and discern which parts would make economic sense to mine. The region, which stretches out for more than 10,000 square kilometers, is protected as a reserve and can only be accessed with a special government grant.

Geological Survey director Forbes Mugumbate confirmed that the Umkondo Basin may in fact contain massive quantities of kimberlite, according to Diamond Intelligence.

For the last several years, the Chiadzwa and Marange diamond fields, located in the adjacent Manicaland province, have provided Zimbabwe with lucrative rough diamonds. But diamond companies operating in Zimbabwe have complained of late that their operations are becoming less profitable as alluvial diamonds become scarcer.