The Supreme Court has ordered that all diamonds extracted from African Consolidated Resources claims in Chiadzwa since 2007 be surrendered to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) for safekeeping, ZimDaily reported.

Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku said the diamonds would remain at the central bank until the ownership wrangle pitting ACR on one hand, and the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation on the other, is resolved, the report said.

ACR’s lawyer, Mr Jonathan Samkange, said this meant Mbada Mining (Private) Limited, who recently got a permit to exploit the disputed claims, cannot sell the diamonds they are currently extracting and must surrender them to the RBZ.

Mr Raphael Tsivama, representing ZMDC, last night said he could not give an interpretation of the order until he had read it in full, sad the report.

MMCZ’ lawyer, Mr Johannes Muchade, said he needed clearance from his client before commenting on the order.

Mbada is a joint venture between ZMDC, Marange Resources (Private) Limited and Mauritius’ Grandwell Holdings Limited.

Marange Resources is a ZMDC subsidiary. Chief Justice Chidyausiku granted an urgent chamber application by ZMDC and MMCZ to suspend execution of part of a High Court judgment ordering the release of the diamonds to ACR pending determination of a Supreme Court appeal, the report said.Justice Charles Hungwe granted the High Court order.

According to ZimDaily, the Supreme Court order means 129,400 carats of diamonds seized from ACR and its subsidiaries by police in 2007 when their permit was cancelled should be taken to the RBZ.

According to the order, MMCZ should use its register in compliance with the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme in calculating the amount of diamonds extracted after the cancellation of the permit in 2007.

“It is ordered that all diamonds referred to in paragraph 3 and 4 of the High Court order in judgment HC6411/07 be surrendered to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe for safekeeping pending the determination of the appeal noted against that judgment.”

The paragraphs referred to concern 129,400 diamond carats seized from ACR on January 15, 2007, as well as all other diamonds extracted from the applicant’s claims thereafter, the report said.It said, Mr Samkange welcomed the court’s decision and said his clients were comfortable with the order.

“We are very comfortable with the decision to have the minerals taken to RBZ for safekeeping pending finalisation of the matter. It means all the minerals extracted from ACR claims since the cancellation of the permit together with those seized from ACR premises will be taken to RBZ.

Even the diamonds that are still to be mined will be taken there as well and none of them shall be sold until the matter is finalised.” Mr. Samkange said Mbada Mining was extracting diamonds “at the heart of ACR’s claims”.

Last year, Justice Hungwe ordered MMCZ to release the seized diamonds to ACR after the High Court reversed a Government decision to cancel the mining consortium’s permit to exploit its claims. He also gave the company the green light to resume operations on its claims without police interference, the report said.

According to the same judgment all the diamonds mined by various companies from the time ACR’s permit was cancelled to date, were to be surrendered to the firm, it said.