Vast Resources engages deputy sheriff to expedite ...

Vast Resources engages deputy sheriff to expedite diamond parcel release

Zim Now Writer

AIM-traded mining company Vast Resources said it has engaged the deputy sheriff to retrieve the historic parcel of 129 400 ct of rough from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe under a writ of execution issued by the High Court of Zimbabwe on June 14.

The company said the deputy sheriff received new instructions to retrieve the parcel, on June 29 and the company’s legal team accompanied the deputy sheriff to the RBZ premises.

However the company cautioned that there is no set date as to when it expects to take possession of the diamonds.

“The company notes that until the process has been finalised and implemented there is no certainty as to the precise timing for the recovery of the parcel, and will update the market as soon as there is a material development in this respect,” the board said in its statement,” the company said in a statement.

Vast said that the RBZ had sought clarity from the deputy sheriff on the status of the original Supreme Court interlocutory order that placed the parcel in its custody until the resolution of pending appeals.

Vast said its legal representatives provided clarification to the RBZ, asserting that the interlocutory order was no longer in effect as the appeal to which it was subject had been abandoned by the original appellants, rendering it invalid before the Supreme Court.

Vast said during the visit to the RBZ, in consultation with the bank’s internal legal counsel, the deputy sheriff and Vast Resources reached an agreement.

The firm said the RBZ committed to providing written confirmation of the process that would govern the orderly and secure handover of the parcel to the company, which would encompass the procedures for valuation for royalty purposes, obtaining export permits, and adhering to the Kimberly Process Certification requirements.

Following that development, Vast Resources and the RBZ would then proceed to establish the necessary logistics for the removal of the parcel, which was previously attached by the deputy sheriff under the writ of execution.

Vast Resources said it remained committed to a transparent and lawful resolution to the handover process.

The parcel of diamonds has been in custody of the Reserve Bank since 2010 when Vast surrendered the gems as evidence that it had exploited diamonds on claims previously owned by DeBeers.

Vast left Chiadzwa diamond fields in 2006, claiming it had failed to find viable reserves, following a decade of exploration. A dispute with the Government of Zimbabwe over release of the parcel ensued.

Vast started with the legal proceedings for its release o in December 2022.

Vast CEO Andrew Prelea, who flew into the country in May to push on the release of the parcel, in February said the process has taken longer than anticipated.

He added that the amicable settlement allows Vast to focus its attention back on other opportunities in Zimbabwe which include a community diamond concession in the Marange diamond fields and Eureka Gold Mine in Mashonaland Central.