STATE-OWNED dia­mond miner, Zim­b­abwe Con­sol­id­ated Dia­mond Com­pany (ZCDC), is cau­tiously optim­istic about its future after a recent suc­cess­ful sale injec­ted much-needed cash flow to sus­tain oper­a­tions.The com­pany has endured a dif­fi­cult six months, grap­pling with depressed dia­mond prices, shift­ing con­sumer pref­er­ences, and the grow­ing pop­ular­ity of lab-grown dia­monds—pres­sures com­poun­ded by ongo­ing geo­pol­it­ical ten­sions in the Middle East, The Manica Post has learned.These chal­lenges have strained ZCDC’s fin­ances, lead­ing to delayed salary pay­ments and dif­fi­culties in meet­ing other oblig­a­tions. The surge in lab-grown dia­monds has par­tic­u­larly dis­rup­ted demand for nat­ural stones, driv­ing prices down­ward. Offi­cial data shows that in 2024, inter­na­tional dia­mond prices aver­aged US$25,15 per carat, down from US$28,84 in 2023, and far below the 2018 peak of US$74.The volat­il­ity in global dia­mond mar­kets has rever­ber­ated across the industry, for­cing mine clos­ures and downs­iz­ing among major pro­du­cers world­wide. ZCDC, oper­at­ing under Zim­b­abwe’s sov­er­eign wealth fund, Mutapa Invest­ment Fund (MIF), has not been spared. More on  https://www.pressreader.com/zimbabwe/the-manica-post/20260403/281509347736865