Review of mining laws timely

eventual conversion to greenhouse gases, again something that was not considered when the present Act came into force.

There have been many changes as to how mining is financed and taxed over the past half century, plus a desire to not just attract investment, but also boost Zimbabwean ownership and benefits from mining.

So there is need to take a good hard look at our mining legislation, the multitude of amendments that have been passed to try and bring the old law in line with new needs, and the growing bundle of regulations and the decisions of ministers, mining commissioners and others who have to try and make the law work.

What is most important is for everyone with a stake in mining to have their ideas heard, their often conflicting needs and desires assessed, and a channel for some serious creative thought opened.

Mines and Mining Development Minister Obert Mpofu is quite open over why there have been delays to amending or rewriting our mining law: he wants these widespread consultations and wants something that works for all and does not need him or Parliament to be continually tinkering.
This is not impossible.

Some things do not change and are as true now as they were in the 1890s when the first mining laws were decreed by the British South Africa Company.
Minerals are a limited and non-renewable resource. Zimbabwe has lots, but when they have gone they have gone.

So we have to ensure that the country gets the maximum possible benefit from minerals as they are mined to exhaustion.
Big mines are expensive to find and open, costing more and needing more special skills in the opening phase than Zimbabwe possesses.

So external investors are always likely to be needed. It is worth noting that the world’s giant mining companies usually have just one new project at a time being commissioned; the concentration of capital and skills needed to open a new mine are that demanding.

These external investors need many things, but above all they desire a simple, clear and transparent process to follow.
They do not want to be bogged down in a labyrinth of red tape.

They know there will be rules, perhaps many rules; but they want these rules to be reasonable and to be clearly spelt out with the route an investor must take to be well mapped. They do not need conflicting decisions from different authorities or have to make applications for changes.

This means Zimbabweans must know what they want.
There is the eternal conflict over just how much is the discoverer of a mineral body entitled to. At one time, a prospector was a man with a donkey and a shovel.
Now highly skilled multi-disciplinary teams have to spend vast sums to find and map of ore bodies or diamond fields or the like. Generally the law allows an active prospector a large exclusive area, but as the team narrows its search it is expected to start choosing what areas it can mine, and has to hand over the prospecting results for the areas it is to surrender.

We have to be careful on one hand to give a prospecting company adequate time and an adequate area to prospect, and the promise of mining rights when they find something, and on the other hand avoid having vast areas locked up in desultory and speculative behaviour.

The balance can be tricky to find. “Use it or lose it” is a good rule, but what must they use, over what time, has to be defined clearly for all. We can understand why Minister Mpofu’s consultation process is so involved.

He obviously wants something that works without him and his officials making a change to the rules every week.
On the other hand we do need something soon; there is a world boom in minerals and we need our share of the investment while times are good.