A Zimbabwe High Court judge has granted the Zimbabwe government permission to sell diamonds belonging to British registered mining company Africa Consolidated Resources (ACR), which claims the legal title to the Marange diamond claims, according to ZimOnline.

President Robert Mugabe's administration seized the diamond mining claims from the ACR in 2006, accusing the firm of illegal mining in the country, notes The Nation. ACR was replaced by government-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC), which formed two joint venture companies (Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners) to exploit the resource.

ACR sought an interim order from the court to stop the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe, ZMDC, Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners from selling the diamonds, asserting its ownership rights to the diamond mines, reports the local press.

In his ruling, the judge found that ACR had failed to satisfy the requirements of urgency as provided by the High Court, reports The Nation. The judge said the sale of the diamonds would not prejudice the company as they can be compensated for the losses if they win the appeal, continues the newspaper.

However, Zimbabwe cannot sell the diamonds until it has satisfied the requirements of the Kimberley Process (KP) certification scheme.