South Africa's New Reclamation Group, which owns Mbada Diamonds, has come under scrutiny by human rights activists, SW Radio Africa reports.

The Mbada Diamonds company was formed as a joint venture between the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) and New Reclamation subsidiary Grandwell Holdings. Mbada and Canadile Mining have been mining at Chiadzwa since African Consolidated Resources (ACR) ceased operations following the government's takeover of the site.

Since the government took control of the Chiadzwa diamond fields, human rights abuses have been reported continually, prompting the international community to place an embargo against Zimbabwe diamonds. While Mines Minister Obert Mpofu has publicly declared that Zimbabwe has fully met all requirements of the international diamond trade – notably the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme – activists maintain that human rights violations in the diamond fields persist.

As such, the Southern African Litigation Centre (SALC), the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) and three Zimbabwean private citizens are petitioning the New Reclamation Group to provide details about its Chiadzwa diamond mining operations.

SALC Director Nicole Fritz told SW Radio Africa that reports of human rights abuses were still coming out of Chiadzwa, and noted that according to reports, Mbada Diamonds were linked to key figures in Zimbabwe's military. Fritz also cited a "widespread belief" that Mbada Diamonds was funding an "election war chest" for Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front.

The petition, filed under the Promotion of Access to Information Act, is seeking details about who benefits from New Reclamation's mining activities and that the diamond company substantiate its claims that it compensated villagers removed from their homes due to the mining project and that the company was planning to provide community services, such as schools and hospitals.