Mozambique may sign up for the Kimberley Process by December 2011, Mineral Resources Minister Esperanca Bias has told the country's Noticias newspaper.



Bias told Noticias that the government had awarded 40 diamond exploration licenses to 21 diamond companies and six individuals, and said that exploration was at an advanced stage. The minister did not specify which firms were exploring in Mozambique.



Mozambique borders Zimbabwe to the east and its proximity to the Marange diamond fields make it a convenient haven for diamond smugglers. In March, Zimbabwe's Deputy Minister of Mines Gift Chimanikire addressed the issue of smuggling and "leakage" of diamonds and other minerals. Chimanikire said that Marange miners bribed law enforcement to allow stones to be smuggled across the border into Mozambique.