Zimbabwe Platinum Mines (Zimplats), a local unit of South Africa-based Impala Platinum Mines, is on a fresh collision course with the government after it filed a notice challenging the compulsory acquisition of close to 27 000 hectares of land.
Veneranda Langa/Mernat Mafirakurewa
Last month, Mines and Mining Development minister Obert Mpofu Impala Platinum Mines announced that the government was repossessing unutilised mining land from the mining giant.
Mpofu indicated at the time the land would be reallocated to five potential investors in a bid to widen revenue generated from the white metal.
“Impala Platinum Holdings Limited confirms that its subsidiary, Zimbabwe Platinum Mines Limited, lodged an objection on March 27 2013 to the Preliminary Notice published in General Notice 123 of 2013 in the Zimbabwean Government Gazette Extraordinary of March 1 2013 with regard to the President’s intention to acquire compulsorily 27 948 hectares of land held by Zimplats,” Implats said in a statement yesterday.
Zimplats and other interested stakeholders had 30 days from the publication of the acquisition notice published in the Government Gazette on March 1 to lodge a written objection with the acquiring authority.
Mines secretary Prince Mupazviriwo, however, justified the government takeover of the land saying it was too vast to the extent it would take Zimplats 400 years to exhaust extraction of minerals in the area.
Addressing legislators from the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy in Vumba during a workshop on diamond mining in Zimbabwe on Wednesday, Mupazviriwo said initially the government had agreed with BHP in 1994 that a refinery should be set up in Zimbabwe, but up to date nothing had been done.
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“Zimplats land was taken by the government because it will take them an excess of 400 years to mine in the area. Currently, they are doing around 120 000 to 200 000 ounces per year and where they are mining at Ngezi, it will take them 333 years to exhaust mining,” he said.
Mupazviriwo said the government could not wait that long to exploit the land, adding its aim was to develop the industry and put in other players.
“I have discussed with the Zimplats CEO and told them our feelings and that we want to move in that direction. We also want to make sure that they establish a refinery in Zimbabwe as endorsed in our agreement. They said there was no motivation to build the refinery here because they get their iron ore from South Africa. We engaged them and they said the throughput was not sufficient to support such an establishment in the country,” he added.
He said as a result, the government had no option but to take over the 28 000 hectares of land so that it is utilised by other players. Mines and Energy committee chairman Edward Chindori Chininga said the development was worrying as the same thing could happen to other mining companies.
