Murowa diamond mine Murowa diamond mine The Murowa diamond mine is a diamond mine located in Mazvihwa, south central Zimbabwe, about 40 kilometres from the asbestos mining town of Zvishavane in the Midlands province. The mine is majority owned and operated by the Rio Tinto Group, which also owns the Argyle diamond mine in Australia and part of the Diavik Diamond Mine in Canada. The mine is a combination of open pit and underground construction; current estimates put construction costs at $61 million USD and mine reserves are 19 million tonnes of ore, with an ore grade of per tonne. Murowa consists of
Hugo Dummett on a "shoestring," staked some promising ground near Lac de Gras in 1989. Dummett took a new job with BHP Minerals in 1989, and convinced his new employer to lease their property. In 1991, BHP drilling on their leased claims found micro-diamonds, sparking one of largest claimstaking rushes in mining history. Under Dummet's direction, BHP eventually developed commercial diamond reserves in five pipes; the discovery pipe turned out to be non-commercial. BHP began the permitting process for the Ekati Diamond Mine in 1995, received final approval in 1997, and opened the mine late in 1998. By 2009, annual sales from