Diamond mining company Alrosa is partnering a Zimbabwe-Russia joint venture company to prospect for diamonds in the southern African country, Russia’s trade and industry minister said on Monday.

Russia’s major investment in Zimbabwe is a joint-venture diamond and gold mining company in eastern Zimbabwe, DTZ-OZGEO, and Moscow is also planning a joint platinum mining operation outside the capital Harare.

Diamonds are mined in the south of the country by private company River Ranch, in central Zimbabwe by Rio Tinto and in the eastern Marange area, which caused controversy when 20,000 illegal miners were evicted by soldiers and police in 2008.

via Reuters