De Beers says an uncertain operating environment and below expectation diamond deposits in Marange were part for the reasons for pulling out of Zimbabwe.

“In addition, the government had created an environment of uncertainty regarding the status and future of the concession,” De Beers’ media relations head Lynette Gould said.

The diamond producer’s local unit,De Beers Zimbabwe, carried out its operations between 1993 and 2006, and first prospected in the Marange area in the late 1990s.

She said before the company left Zimbabwe it sought an audience with the government and handed over its findings as its operations were carried out above board.

“The prospecting in the region was concluded by early 2006, with the conclusion that the primary source for such diamonds was not local, and De Beers moved to relinquish its prospecting rights in the region.” Gould said.

“The presence of diamonds in the Marange area was first discovered in the period 2001 to 2003 by De Beers during its exploration search for primary deposits,” she said.

The diamond miner’s statement come on the back of threats of litigation by the Zimbabwean government, accusing it of looting gems worth hundreds of millions of dollars during its 15 year operation in the country.