adminThe move, which will also see an upward review of diamond mining licensing and other fees, is part of broader initiatives by the State to gain leverage on its key natural resources.
Minister Mpofu was speaking at a mining sector stakeholders briefing forum that was hosted by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development in Harare yesterday.
“We have been in talks with our principals (of the inclusive Government) on the issue of increasing application fees for diamond mining to $1 million and they are agreeable,” he said.
“We also intend to increase licensing fees for new diamond miners up to $5 million, as well as introduce fees that will be charged for certain mineral blocks.
“The new fees will also be applicable to current operators and as such will be backdated. The period where foreign miners exploited our resources for next to nothing is over.”
This development could also help curb speculative claims hoarding because currently the Mines and Minerals Act does not specify a limit as to the number of claims one can hold.
The current indigenisation drive requires foreign mining companies to sell 51 percent of their equity to indigenous Zimbabweans and this is part of measures to ensure the nation yields greater benefits from its mineral resources.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti in the 2012 national budget also proposed to increase royalties for gold and platinum to 7 percent from 4,5 percent and 10 percent from 5 percent, respectively from next year.
The plan has, however, not come without opposition.
As anticipated, the move to increase royalties faces resistance from the mining companies themselves.
Addressing delegates at the same event, the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe urged the Government to scrap its decision to review upward the royalties for the two minerals.
“It is not profitable when you push up royalties, it is better to increase corporate tax,” said the chamber’s president Mr Winston Chitando.
The Government, however, appears eager to maintain its stance. Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara went further and proposed a new strategy in the awarding of mining claims.
“There shall be no more free mining claims. If a foreign investor is interested in our minerals we will ask him or her to invest an amount that is equivalent to the value of the resources in the ground as part of equity investment. Only after that can they bring the required working capital,” he said.
Although Zimbabwe is yet to ascertain the value of its vast mineral resources, there are plans to set up, through exploration, a registry of minerals.
Online Reporter