Zim to Start Selling Diamond Stocks_Zimbabwe plans to begin selling diamond stockpiles from its Marange fields immediately, whether this week's meeting of regulators of the trade gives the go ahead or not, the country's mining minister said.

Civil society groups have urged the Kimberley Process (KP) certification scheme to suspend ties with Zimbabwe.

"Zimbabwe will be contributing more than 30% of the diamonds produced in the world," he said.

"I would like to take this opportunity to advise that Zimbabwe will be immediately exporting its diamond stockpiles because we are KP compliant and we need the money to drive the economy forward," Minister of Mines and Mining Development Obert  Mpofu told a meeting on Wednesday of some 70 members of the Kimberley Process.

"We have invited the KP monitor to continue discharging his mandate under the supervised export arrangement."

The minister spoke at a sesssion closed to the media, but he provided Reuters with a copy of his speech.

He later told Reuters: "I am going to sell the diamonds."

While the meeting was due to end on Wednesday evening, Boaz Hirsch, the 2010 KP chairman, said delegates have not been able to reach a consensus on Zimbabwe and were continuing to meet.

"There has been quite a lively discussion with a whole spectrum of opinions expressed," he told reporters.

Mpofu voiced concern that some were using the process to keep Zimbabwe's diamonds out of the market.

"We shall be selling with certificates issued by ourselves and in this regard the KP monitor will be free to supervise the exports."

The Kimberley Process, a certification scheme set up to monitor diamond trade, angered human rights groups and diamond traders this month when a monitor it appointed to assess the mining operations at Marange said Zimbabwe had met the minimum conditions set by the regulator and could start gem exports.

US, EU CONCERNED

A source present at the closed meetings said most African countries, excluding West African countries, as well as India and Russia supported the monitor's report while the United States, Australia and the European Union reiterated concerns that Zimbabwe had not met the minium requirements of the KP.--miningweekly