One of the seven firms licensed to mine the government-controlled Marange diamond deposits, Anjin has reported constant decline in alluvial diamond deposits since 2013 and earlier requested for enlarged license areas. It is also facing shortage of equipment, expertise and resources needed for underground mining.
The firm has declined to give the number of jobs to be axed, as reported in The Source.
The publication quoted Anjin spokesperson Martha Chikata as saying: "On retrenchment, like any other business, we try to align our manpower levels with our business activities.
We are in one-month salary arrears, for the month of October 2014. This was due to the disruption to our cashflow plans as a result of the unforeseen legal challenges we encountered in Antwerp."
The announcement came just a month after 200 employees went on strike to force the management to pay outstanding salaries for September and October and to improve working conditions. They resumed work after the management promised to pay salaries.
The miners, who have been engaged in open-cast operations, said that deep-seated conglomerate diamonds are no longer commercially viable in the area.
Zimbabwe lost $45m in diamond revenue in Belgium after the last tender in September when the country allowed South African firm Amari Platinum Holdings to recover part of a $500m debt owed by the State-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC). Zimbabwe has since been struggling to recover the lost revenue.
The Second Zimbabwe Diamond Conference held earlier in November also stressed on the need for foreign investment and advanced exploration and mining equipment.
