Miners say new fee structure uncompetitive

The committee also heard that some of the fee increases were illegal as they were not provided for under the Mines and Minerals Act.
Representatives of the Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines and Zimbabwe Miners Federation yesterday urged Government to reverse the increases. Some of the rates went up by 5 000 percent. They said reversing the increases would help Zimbabwe benefit from its mineral resources.
“The new fee structure established, in our view is unworkable, it will halt new exploration work and push out small scale mining operations. It will impose a new burden on existing mines,” the second vice president of the Chamber of Mines Mr Allan Mashingaidze said.
“The mining industry has had no mineral exploration for more than 10 years. If the mining industry is to grow, there is need to set charges that are comparable to those charged in other countries,” he said.
Mr Mashingaidze said the new structure will result in miners paying 60 percent of each dollar earned as revenue in taxes, fees and licences making it unfavourable for investment.
He said while the new ordinary prospecting fees had been set at US$1 000, in Zambia it was US$314, Tanzania US$100 and Nigeria US$126.
The special prospecting licence set at  US$3 000 in Zimbabwe costs US$279, 57 in Zambia while in Tanzania, Nigeria and Namibia it is free.
Chamber of Mines immediate past president Mr Victor Gapare said new charges like the special prospective licence fees, diamond application fee and registration fee were not provided for in the law.
ZMF secretary Mr Wellington Takavarasha said most small scale miners were into gold production and will be forced to close by the tariff regime.
“Seventy percent of our miners are into gold and the mining ground levies and the levies charged for ore removal permits are a punishment to indigenous players.
“The new fee structure also says a prospective licence is for a particular area when in the past it used to be for the whole country, this is not provided for in the law,” Mr Takavasha said.
Zimbabwe Indigenous Economic Empowerment Organisation president Mr Paddington Japajapa said the new licence structure was against the letter and spirit of the indigenisation policy.
“The new fees go against Government policy of indigenisation meant to uplift the standards of living for the people of Zimbabwe,” he said.
He said it was better to have separate fee structures for local and foreign investors.
The new fee structure is contained in Statutory Instrument 11 of 2012 under the Mining (General) (Amendment) Regulations, 2012 (No.16).