Several international companies, some of which are considered to be global mining giants, have expressed interest in searching for diamonds in Mozambique.

This comes at a time when the country is about to be admitted to the Kimberley process, a worldwide mechanism for controlling the exploitation and marketing of diamonds.

Data recently provided to "Notícias" by the Executive Secretary of the Kimberley Process Management Unit, Castro Elias, indicate that nearly 47 licenses for crystal prospecting and research have already been issued in the country.

Meanwhile, there are also 70 new applications that are following the legal procedures for obtaining a license.

Castro Elias explained that some of the international companies that want to enter Mozambique already have geological information on the occurrence of diamonds, although they are aware that they cannot move forward now, since the country is not yet a member of the Kimberley process.

"The example of the companies that want to enter are the Russian companies. Many of them have quality information because, as is known, after the 1975s, Russia had many technicians in Mozambique who worked in the area of prospecting and research and they hold this information about the geology of the country," he sustained.

He reiterated that these companies are only waiting for Mozambique's admission, which may occur in December of this year, in order to start prospecting and research.

Castro Elias said he believes that the entry of many of these companies into the national market will provide many jobs for local communities.

This is because, as he argued, for research activities, the companies, besides the water supply infrastructures, create or improve access roads among others that end up benefiting the population.

"Besides these benefits, the tax that is paid and the discoveries can propitiate more exports and all of this cannot be gained today because Mozambique is not a member of the Kimberley process," he mentioned.

Available data point to a potential occurrence of diamonds along the Limpopo and Save rivers, an area in Tete as well as in the Maniamba basin and Lago in Niassa province.

"These are the areas where companies are applying for licenses and fortunately we had the case of Massangena, where crystals were identified that are currently stored in a national bank waiting for the country to join the Kimberley process so they can be moved," indicated the executive secretary of the Kimberley process.