Zimplats land dispute still in the courts

Zimplats land dispute still in the courts

Ndakaziva Majaka Deputy Markets Editor 

ZIMBABWE’S largest platinum producer, Zim-plats, says its challenge against the compulsory acquisition of 28 000 hectares of land by gov­ernment is still before the courts. 

Government last year filed a court application to enforce a prior notice for compulsory acquisition of the land as former president Robert Mugabe’s then government moved to grab it for allocation to other investors.  

This followed an objection to the acquisition by Zimplats, which had been served with an order of compulsory acquisition and had filed a-court applica­tion seeking confirmation of the acquisition. 

In a quarterly update released last week, Zimplats said: “This matter is currently pending in the courts and the operating subsidiary is engaging government on the matter. 

In January last year, government issued a prelimi­nary notice in the Government Gazette giving notice that it intended to compulsorily acquire the land, lo­cated within Zimplats’ special mining lease area. 

In prior notices, government claimed that the land would be used “for the benefit of the public”. 

Zimplats said a 2006 release of ground agreement states that “it was accepted by both government and Zimplats that the ground that Zimplats remained with was required to achieve its expansion objectives”. 

However, government has completely ignored this, threatening not to renew the Australia Stock Exchange-listed company miner’s 25-year special mining lease granted to its successor, BHP Minerals Zimbabwe, in 1994. 

The 28 000 hectares has been lying idle for years and government has previously said it intends to ac­quire and re-allocate it to prospective miners who are keen on extracting platinum for the country’s eco­nomic growth. 

Meanwhile, the miner recorded a 21 percent in­crease in revenue in the quarter to March 31, 2018 from $131,2 million to $158,6 million. 

Zimplats said a profit from operations after royal­ties in the quarter under review surged 53 percent to $64,5 million from $42,2 million recorded in the prior comparable quarter.     [email protected]