Barely six months after Shabanie Mine resumed operations, the asbestos mining giant could be facing a bleak future following revelations the United States of America is mulling including it on the sanctions list by virtue of it being run by the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC).
US Ambassador to Zimbabwe Charles Ray told NewsDay last week any company run by the ZMDC automatically gets on the sanctions list.
The envoy said Shabanie would soon join diamond mining companies Marange Resources and Mbada Diamonds, which are owned by ZMDC and are sanctioned under America’s Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (Zidera).
“Of the four companies that are mining in Chiadzwa, only two are on the sanctions list,” Ray said.
“Marange and Mbada are owned by an entity that is already listed on the sanctions list so it is automatic that every company run by ZMDC is listed. Those companies are listed wherever they are operating and any company that is not listed will not be touched.”
President Robert Mugabe directed the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development through ZMDC to take over the running of ailing mines Shabanie and Gaths which are subsidiaries of Shabanie Mashava Mines, formerly owned by South Africa-based business mogul Mutumwa Mawere.
