Mines and Mineral Development Minister, Amos Midzi, confirmed that mining of the blue gem was set to begin shortly but would not specify the exact date.
"It will be pretty soon. Stakeholders that the government is working with have to be consulted before the information can be publicised," he said.
Thousands of people from different parts of the country invaded Marange last year in the diamond rush that saw some abandoning homes and formal jobs, as well as schoolchildren quitting classes to prospect for the mineral.
The government moved in to stop the wholesale looting of the precious mineral by cordoning off the area and deploying heavily armed security personnel.
It granted the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe the sole right to purchase all the diamonds that the villagers and illegal dealers were holding.
The situation on the ground reveals that some villagers and illegal dealers held onto some diamonds, which they are offloading on the black market while scores of illegal miners are still camped in the area where they engage in running battles with the police.
Vice President Joice Mujuru recently urged local authorities to put in place measures and guidelines that ensure natural resources like diamonds are sold to the government to enable the state to get foreign currency for the purchase of fuel, plant and equipment among other key requirements.
Addressing a two-day induction workshop for more than 550 rural district councilors from Manicaland, Mashonaland East, West and Central provinces last month, Mujuru said it was the duty of councils as the lower arms of government, to ensure diamonds found in Chiadzwa, Marange were sold directly to the State.
Marketing of diamonds is regulated through the elaborate Kimberly Process Certification System which details the origins of the gems and other qualities to stop trade in illegal or "blood diamonds" from conflict-ridden areas, especially in Africa.
Roughly 49 percent of diamonds originate from central and southern Africa although significant reserves have been discovered in Canada, India, Brazil and Australia.
The Zimbabwe government is amending the Mines and Minerals Act to empower it to claim 51 percent shareholding in foreign mining companies. ' New Ziana.
