eBusiness Weekly
Golden Sibanda
In a bid to optimise returns from the country’s diverse mining sector, Government has given people holding on to idle lucrative mining claims for speculative reasons until the end of this month to submit detailed mine development plans or risk losing their ground to the State.
Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando warned this week that the Government would now shift the gears from previous rhetorical threats to actual repossession of un-worked claims in line with dictates of the country’s mining laws, in order to grow the sector.
The capital intensive resources industry holds significant potential to increase the country’s export earnings, create employment and generate revenues to the Treasury among other benefits, but the sector has over the years not be optimally exploited, partly due to speculative tendencies.
This is despite the fact that the bulk of minerals produced in Zimbabwe are exported, making the mining sector a strategic export earner, while Government has also designated resources industry as the driver of the country’s short to medium term economic growth and development.
But while mining could earn Zimbabwe billions more, the country continues to battle acute shortage of foreign currency to meet external payment obligations for critical items including fuel, raw materials, drugs and medicines, equipment and machinery and electricity.
Claims utilised
Minister Chitando said Government through his ministry would enforce the “Use it or Lose it” policy, a policy position legislated through the country’s Mines and Minerals Amendment Act, passed last year after lengthy spells on the table.
Minister Chitando warned that Government would repossess undeveloped claims amid revelations that some mining houses and individuals have held on to mineral rich platinum concessions for over 30 years, but without exploiting the resource.
The mines minister told State broadcaster – Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation – in Masvingo this week that the problem of holding on to mineral rich claims was not confined to platinum alone, but across the range of Zimbabwe’s mineral diversity.
“Government since independence has not been enforcing the Mines and Minerals Act on our country’s precious minerals like gold and platinum.
“My ministry is now active on the ground identifying mines that are not being utilised and they will be forfeited under the use it or lose it policy.
“We have set April 30 as the deadline for all those who are not utilising their concessions to submit their plans of action on how they intend to develop the mines.
“There are platinum concessions which are not being utilised; we will give people a deadline. We want to see all the mining concessions being utilised.
“We are not talking about platinum alone but every mineral, every mining claim that is being held for speculative reasons,” said Minister Chitando.
Mineral diversity
The mines minister is on record saying that despite the fact Zimbabwe is home to over 60 mineral occurrences, it was sad that less than 10 of those resources were being commercially exploited.
Zimbabwe, where eminent global platinum producer Implats has operations, is home to the world’s second largest platinum reserves after South Africa. It is also the fifth largest producer of lithium.
Other prominent minerals found in huge abundance in the mineral rich Southern African country include gold, diamond, chrome, asbestos, coal, emerald, nickel, tantalite, uranium and copper.
Minerals generate more than 60 percent of Zimbabwe’s export earnings, but the inflows are dominated by gold and platinum, which between them account for over 50 percent of the earnings, given the limited investment going into the other minerals.
Last year, Zimbabwe earned US$3,2 billion from the export of minerals. Zimbabwe has been sprucing up its investment laws, including allowing foreigners to hold 100 percent shares in platinum and diamonds, as it targets a US$12 billion industry by 2024.
