Parliament advises on chrome ban lift

Energy said there must be a mechanism to enable Government and chrome producers to realise some value from the base metal.
Committee chairperson and Guruve South MP, Cde Edward Chindori-Chininga said this while presenting a report on chrome production in the country.

“Instead of totally banning chrome ore exports there should be an export tax that discourages miners from exporting but offers an escape window in the absence of local smelting capacity,” said Cde Chindori-Chininga.

The committee recommended that the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe be allowed to export chrome ore as that would enable producers to recover their money. It was noted that big corporates like Zimasco and ZimAlloys owned high grade ores with chrome content between 58 and 62 percent and holding on to substantial amount of chrome reserves, some of which acquired as far back as 1904. This inhibited the entrance of new players.

“The Committee recommend that the Ministry of Mines should negotiate with these companies to release ground to enable indigenous players to acquire claims of high chrome ore content so that they can effectively participate in the sector,” he said.

ZimAlloys, said the Committee, was the second largest holder of chrome but had not been operating for the past 10 years yet there were small scale miners failing to get high grade chrome.

Cde Chindori-Chininga said Government should quickly amend the Mines and Minerals Act to help address disputes arising between farmers and miners.
The Committee said it received complaints against Chinese miners with most of them accused of not having legitimate title to the claims they were working on.

It was also raised that some Chinese nationals were a law unto themselves as they created an impression that they were ‘untouchable’ claiming that they enjoyed protection from people in high offices.

“The Committee could not verify which this person was but the perception was real within the community. As a result Environmental Management Agency, local authorities and the community were powerless to enforce compliance of environmental demands.