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Last Updated: Jul 5, 2009 - 8:18:07 AM |
Harare - Zimbabwe will re-evaluate all mining contracts and introduce a
"use it or lose it" policy for its mining industry under a proposed
law, Finance Minister Tendai Biti told Reuters on Friday. The vetting
of mining contracts by Zimbabwe's unity government of President Robert
Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is likely to surprise
investors at a time Harare is wooing them to help repair a battered
economy. Mining has become the leading source of foreign exchange, with
gold accounting for a third of exports, but political turmoil, lack of
energy and unfavourable regulatory rules has led to several mines
closing. "The government... is working on a new mining law, amendments
to the mining laws, so that we comply with new standards for the
extractive industries, which the World Bank is insisting on," Biti said
in an interview. "That law will introduce the concept of 'use it or
lose it' with respect to... mining claims. It will also introduce the
re-evaluation of every mining contract that has been signed in
Zimbabwe." Biti declined to say when the proposed law would be brought
to parliament to avoid pre-empting the mines minister.
Some of the key players in Zimbabwe include Impala Platinum Holdings
(Implats), the world's second largest producer of the metal, which has
the biggest mining investments in Zimbabwe. Its bigger rival Anglo
Platinum and Rio Tinto also have mining interests in the country.
Implats and Angloplat officials in Johannesburg said they were unaware
of Zimbabwe's plan to re-check mining contracts, and would wait for
more details before making a comment. Prior to the new move to
re-evaluate mining contracts, a vital concern for investors in Zimbabwe
which has the world's second-biggest platinum reserves and hefty
deposits of diamonds, coal and nickel, was a law limiting foreign
ownership of businesses, including mines, to 49 percent. Biti said the
proposed mining law would have flexible local ownership rules and seeks
to empower Zimbabwe's masses, rather than enrich a few. "The concept of
empowerment we want to see is mass empowerment, which is felt at the
grassroots, village level," he said. "This will be done through the
establishment of a National Sovereign Fund to enable communities to
benefit from the exploitation of the finite resources from their areas."
Biti denied newspaper reports on Friday that Zimbabwe - battling to
raise $10 billion it says is required to rescue the economy - will
receive $5 billion in loans from China in return for some platinum
consessions. He also denied a claim by Tsvangirai that Zimbabwe had won
a $950 million credit line from China. "There's no foundation at all in
reports that we have received $950 million from China," he said. Biti
said Zimbabwe was seeking an $80 million credit facility with the
Development Bank of South Africa to revamp its Hwange thermal power
station and increase coal output at a nearby mine which supplies coal
to the plant.
Source:Ocnus.net 2009
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