Zimplats cedes land to govt
Financial Gazette 8/6/2018
Ndakaziva Majaka Deputy Markets Editor
ZIMBABWE’S largest platinum producer, Zim-plats, has agreed to release 23 903 hectares of land to government within its mining lease after a two-year wrangle, it has emerged.
In an update released yesterday, Zimplats, parent company, Implats, said the move was in “support of government efforts to enable participation by other investors in the platinum mining industry in Zimbabwe”.
“Following this release of ground, Zimplats now holds two separate and non-contiguous pieces of land measuring in aggregate 24 632 hectares.
“Consequently, the operating subsidiary applied for and was granted with effect from May 31, 2018, two separate mining leases over the two pieces of land measuring 6 605 hectares and 18 027 hectares, respectively/’ the group said.
In January last year, government issued — through a Government Gazette — a preliminary notice giving fresh notice that it intended to compulsorily acquire 28 000 hectares of the miner’s land.
From prior notices, government claimed that the Zimplats land would be used “for the benefit of the public”.
The smaller land Zimplats now owns hosts the historical Hartley mining area and Selous Metallurgical Complex, while the other hosts the Ngezi mining operations, including the future portal 10 mining area.
“The mining leases replace the special mining lease held by Zimplats, which was due for renewal in August 2019.
“The two mining leases issued to Zimplats’ operating subsidiary are valid for the life of mine of Zimplats’ mining operations and secure the operating subsidiary’s mining tenure,” the Australia Stock Exchange listed company said.
The Financial Gazette understands that the land ceded by Zimplats had been promised to Loucas Pouroulis linked Karo Resources after President Emmerson Mnangagwa recently signed his biggest deal since coming to power with Karo Resources, highlighting that the platinum project would start in 2020 and produce 1,4 million ounces a year of platinum-group metals at full output.
According to Zimplats, a 2006 release of ground agreement slates that “it was accepted by both government and Zimplats that the land that Zimplats remained with was required by Zimplats to achieve its expansion objectives”.
However, government completely ignored this, and instead “reminded” the company about the impending expiry of the miner’s 25-year special mining lease granted to its successor BHP Minerals Zimbabwe in 1994, resulting in the miner giving in.
The 28 000 hectares have been lying idle for years, with former president Robert Mugabe initially indicating an intention to acquire the land and re-allocate it to other prospective miners. [email protected]