MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian diamond producer Alrosa on Tuesday said it had started prospecting and preliminary exploration works for primary diamond deposits in Zimbabwe in a joint venutre with the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC).

“Following the signing of a joint venture agreement with ZCDC to develop diamond deposits in Zimbabwe in December 2019, we are progressing well towards the initiation of the full-scale prospecting works this year,” said Alrosa’s deputy CEO Vladimir Marchenko.