adminlocal companies to prospect for the mineral in the Hwange area.
Mines and Mining Development Minister Obert Mpofu told delegates to an all stakeholders meeting in Mutare last week that only two or three of the 20 licence holders have started utilising them.
“The other licence holders are sitting on them. We understand they are using them for speculative purposes and they are now selling them all over the world,” he said.
The minister said they were considering evoking the “use it or lose it” policy which they adopted as a ministry to deal with speculative behaviour involving mining licence holders.
Minister Mpofu’s comments came after a representative of Women in Mining had asked him whether the ministry could consider lowering the US$100 000 fee required to get a special mining grant as it was too high for local people.
In response the minister said they had actually increased the figure because it was too low especially given that most of the grants that the ministry has issued were being used for speculative purposes.
He however pointed out that the ministry was willing to consider special cases separately.
Speaking on the same subject, Mines and Mining Development Deputy Minister Gift Chimanikire said they were considering exposing the concerned companies.
“As a ministry we have tried to pair the companies with foreign investors and when we made follow-ups to find out what happened to the partnerships we have been told that they have failed because the local companies have demanded US$100 000.
“When we asked what it is for we have been told its commitment fees or ‘Chedumbu’. We will name and shame these companies,” he said.
Early this year Minister Mpofu announced that they had licenced five coal mining firms Makomo Investments, WK Blasting, Clidder, Apex and Liberation Mining.
An additional 15 were later licenced during the course of the year to bring the number to 20.
According to a earlier research note by business research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, Zimbabwe has coal reserves that will “approximately last the next 200 years at a production output of 5 000 tonnes per annum.”
These coal reserves can be used as feedstock for coal-powered thermal power stations.
Online Reporter