HARARE – Zimbabwe has accepted a proposal by Impala Platinum’s joint venture with Aquarius Platinum to turn over a majority stake to locals, a government minister said on Thursday.
Empowerment minister Saviour Kasukuwere said Mimosa mine outside Harare, a 50-50 partnership between Implats and Aquarius, will transfer 10 percent each to workers and local communities, 6 percent to state employees and 25 percent to a state fund.
“They have submitted a compliant 51 percent plan. It has since been submitted to the ministry which has been accepted,” Kasukuwere told reporters on the sidelines of an investment conference.
The proposal comes more than a week after Implats bowed to Harare’s demands that the world’s second largest platinum miner transfer a similar stake in its Zimplats operation to locals.
Implats has said the Zimbabwean government would have to pay for the shares it wants.
On Thursday Kasukuwere said the agreement with Implats should include an evaluation of assets and resources owned by Zimplats but he did not give further details.
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“At the end of the day we want a win-win situation. We need a fair share of what is due to us,” he said.
Kasukuwere has previously said the cash strapped government would not pay for shares in mines, arguing that it already owned the mineral resources in the ground.
Zimbabwe, with the second-largest known platinum deposits in the world after South Africa, is seen as a growth area for the platinum sector.