Former Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) evaluator and gemologist, engineer Clever Sithole, has opened a laboratory in Kabul, Afghanistan, to unlock the true value of gemstones and curb smuggling.
The Silk Road Heart Gemological Laboratory and Lapidary
Centre is a specialised flagship centre for value addition and beneficiation of
minerals produced in Afghanistan. It also offers training opportunities for
Afghans.
They are trained to be proficient in cutting, polishing and
certification of gemstones according to international standards.
In an interview soon after its opening, Eng Sithole said
the facility would soon obtain international accreditation, and would be
implementing the latest technologies, such as block chain tracing of gems from
the mine to markets.
The laboratory is equipped with the latest scientific
technologies for gemstones analysis, grading and certification.
Eng Sithole said Zimbabwe can accrue numerous benefits in
setting up a similar laboratory which would obtain international accreditation
to enable the country to certify coloured stones and diamonds from across the
region.
“Setting up a gemological laboratory and lapidary centre
brings a lot of advantages for the country. The facility is specialised, and
unlocks true value from gemstones, curbs under declaration and smuggling of
gems, which opens up more opportunities for the county,” he said.
Eng Sithole emphasised that the centre will create
employment opportunities in lapidary and jewelry craftsmanship. The
Afghanistan-based Zimbabwean mineral evaluator and gemologist has been co-opted
into the Afghan government’s semi-precious committee in charge of reforming the
exports policy under the Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
Among its successes, the committee has done tremendous work
in terms of implementing ease of doing business reforms to enable easier export
of gemstones.
An Afghan precious stones conference and buyers meeting was
held in Dubai in July 2021.
Eng Sithole is a mining engineer and advanced scientific
gemologist trained by institutes in the United States of America, the United
Kingdom, Belgium, India, Dubai United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Israel, South
Africa, and Spain.
He worked for the MMCZ for 13 years, and was involved in
gemstones and diamond valuations, among other duties. Herald
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