Zimbabwe earned "big money" at the first diamond auction in Dubai during the last week of March 2014 due to the high demand from Indian buyers. Sales at the first tender amounted to $ 29.2 million, with most of the products acquired by Indian diamond companies and traders, as reported by the newspaper Times of India. The tender, organized by the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE), was promoted by Global Diamond Tenders in conjunction with the Dubai Multi-Commodities Center (DMCC).
The diamond raw materials put up for sale during the auction were produced by Anjin, Jinan, DTZ-Ozgeo, Diamond Mining Company (DMC), Marange Resources, Mbada Diamonds and Kusena. Zimbabwe's mining minister, Walter Chidhakwa, said that as a result of the tender, the government earned $ 4.3 million in royalties. The average price of Zimbabwean diamonds sold was $ 76 per carat, and the highest price per carat was $ 5,000.