Russian diamond producer PJSC Alrosa and state-owned Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Co. finalized their joint venture agreement to explore for primary diamond deposits in the African country.

Alrosa CEO Sergey Ivanov and Zimbabwe Consolidated nonexecutive Chairman Killian Ukama signed the shareholder and joint venture establishment agreements for Alrosa (Zimbabwe) Ltd., owned 70% by Alrosa and 30% by Zimbabwe Consolidated.

"Signing current agreements allows us to form the company's administration and to initiate procedures required to get necessary permissions and licenses," Ivanov said in a Dec. 26 news release.

Majority state-owned Alrosa established the subsidiary in December 2018 before the two companies signed a memorandum of agreement in July to transform it into a joint venture for prospecting, exploring and mining primary diamond deposits in Zimbabwe.