HARARE – Zanu (PF) wants all diamond mining in Zimbabwe to be nationalised, according to confidential Politburo minutes that have been confirmed by party spokesman Rugare Gumbo

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It is not clear how they plan to do this. The party’s position is at variance with government's position that only alluvial diamond mining operations will be nationalised. 

The Diamond Act, still being debated by the Cabinet committee on legislation, proposes handing management contracts to those private companies currently mining diamonds.
But the minutes say: "the diamond sub-sector still has enclaves dominated by multi-national companies, including those from countries that imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe."

The other diamond mines are Murowa and River Ranch's open pit and underground mine, both 75 percent owned by De Beers. Global miner Rio Tinto is one of the foreign mining companies that faces the threat of expropriation.
“Zanu (PF) will continue to push for the nation’s greater say in the exploitation of all our mineral resources,” the Politburo resolved, according to the leaked minutes
“Empowerment cannot be limited to diamonds, let alone a specific deposit area," say the minutes - referring to the Marange diamond fields. 
"Zimbabweans must have a stake in all diamond claims in the country, as indeed they should in all minerals, regardless of who owns them currently.”
Gumbo said the Politburo was discussing resolutions passed at last year’s party conference. This plan "should be implemented right away" and "2011 should be a turning point in the overall indigenisation and empowerment drive", he said.
The diamond fields in Marange communal lands have already been nationalised and handed over to a government-appointed consortium, which includes a Chinese company and Mbada, a Zanu (PF)-linked company run by the military.
Human Rights Watch and the group Partnership Africa Canada say the Kimberley Process monitor responsible for Zimbabwe has ignored gross human-rights abuses in the Marange area.  The human-rights groups say the diamond fields have been "militarized" by Mugabe's security chiefs. 

By Staff reporter and agencies