Mining giant Rio Tinto is content with its Zimbabwe diamond operation and intends to push forward with the Murowa venture, Harry Kenyon-Slaney, Rio's chief executive of diamonds and minerals said.



Speaking at the Mining Indaba conference, Kenyon-Slaney told Mining Weekly that he would be visiting Zimbabwe this week in order to meet with local mining industry leaders.



The Murowa operation, he said, has good quality diamonds and the potential to expand further. The south-central Zimbabwe mine currently employs 325 people.



Rio Tinto, he continued, was “encouraged by the progress made by the government over the last year and the improvement in the socioeconomic environment of the country," as well as by the government's support and consultation on mining-industry issues.



Rio Tinto has been in Zimbabwe for 50 years "and we've continued to support our people and the operation through that period." he concluded.