NEARLY US$80 million belonging to Australian Stock Exchange listed platinum producer Zimplats Holdings was owed by Zimbabwe at the end of last year, according to the firm's financial statements.
Under the country's export retention policy, exporters must surrender 30% of their foreign currency earnings to authorities in exchange for Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), at the prevailing interbank rate.
“This arises from Zimbabwe’s export retention regime, which requires exporters to surrender a portion of their foreign currency earnings to the RBZ in exchange for ZiG at the prevailing interbank exchange rate.
“The implementation of tight monetary and fiscal policy measures by the authorities has resulted in intermittent releases of local currency, resulting in the accumulation of ZiG balances.”
Last week, Reuters reported that South Africa’s Valterra Platinum is owed about US$100 million in 2025 export proceeds by the Zimbabwean government, which has begun partial payments to clear arrears.
“It’s about US$100 million that hasn’t been able to be accessed by us,” Valterra chief financial officer Sayurie Naidoo told analysts during a results call.
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“We have been engaging with the Reserve Bank as well as the Ministry of Finance, and we are receiving some funds in 2026 so far, and we do expect to receive that over the next couple of months,” Naidoo added.
The Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe has previously flagged delayed disbursements of the local currency component of export proceeds, warning that hold ups undermine firms’ ability to meet statutory and operational obligations.
Despite these concerns, the central bank maintained the 30% retention threshold in last week’s 2026 Monetary Policy Statement. However, small scale gold miners will now surrender 10% of export proceeds after previously retaining the full amount.
The developments came as Zimplats lined up capital commitments totalling US$431,08 million as at December 31, 2025, with nearly US$260 million due within the next 12 months. Part of the funding is expected to come from internal resources.
Still, the group delivered a strong half year performance.
Operating cash generation rose to US$171,78 million from US$59,9 million in the comparable period last year. Cash and cash equivalents increased to US$145,71 million from US$41,4 million.
Revenue surged 83% to US$641,8 million, largely driven by a 66% increase in average metal prices, while profit after tax jumped more than 35 fold to US$143,7 million.
Zimplats has about US$134 million remaining on key capital projects, including US$26 million for the Mupani Mine replacement project, US$78 million for smelter expansion and a sulphur dioxide abatement plant, and nearly US$30 million for its Phase 2A solar power project.
Speaking at the Zimbabwe Mining Forum on the side-lines of the Investing in African Mining Indaba, chief executive officer Alexander Mhembere said the company had invested heavily in energy security.
“We established the only 330kV substation since independence so that we could take power from the region,” he said.
Zimplats has been importing electricity from Mozambique and Zambia to supplement domestic supply and expects to commission a 45 megawatt (MW) solar plant this year under Phase 2A, after installing a 35MW facility last year.