SMM revival: ZMDC takes over

Government assigned it to oversee the revival of the mines.
Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development Mr Gift Chimanikire said President Mugabe had given the directive that the ministry takes over SMM.
He also said the dispute with the previous owner, Mr Mutumwa Mawere, had been concluded and they were conducting a cost analysis of the mines.
“It was an instruction from the President to Minister Chinamasa to hand over administration for the ministry to reopen SMM with immediate effect,” said the minister.
He made the remarks in an address to the 72nd Annual General Meeting of the Chamber of Mines in Victoria Falls last week.
The deputy minister said SMM was handed over to the ministry at a ceremony held recently, and attended by Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, the former administrator, Afaras Gwaradzimba, and the mines’ managerial staff.
But Mr Mawere said yesterday he had made an application to the High Court in a bid to block the takeover.
“If there is a court application that cites the Minister of Mines as the defendant, how can they say they have taken over SMM?” asked Mr Mawere.
Since 2004, SMM had been under the control of the Government-appointed administrator who had been tasked to revive the mines.
Mr Gwaradzimba was called to brief the ministry on the state of affairs at the mine. He had indicated that most of the equipment needed to be replaced.
But the initial assessment by the ministry had indicated that only a small portion of the machinery needed replacement and/or rehabilitation.
The ministry said it would not need a technical partner for SMM.
Mr Chimanikire said the ZMDC was in the process of evaluating the financial requirements for reopening SMM.
He said Mr Mawere would not take part in the latest efforts to bring the country’s only known asbestos mines back to life.
The deputy minister said they were told during the handover and takeover process that an agreement had been reached with the previous owner of the mines.
Mr Mawere immediately dismissed this as entirely unfounded.
He said if an agreement had been reached, he would not have sought legal recourse in efforts to prevent the mines ministry from taking over SMM.
SMM was put under reconstruction in 2004 following allegations that Mr Mawere had externalised huge sums of money generated from exports of asbestos.
The reconstruction efforts under the administrator failed to yield results as problems continued to mount while attempts to lure an investor also faltered.
Mr Mawere is still battling to regain control of the asbestos mining empire and other companies falling under his trading company, Africa Resources Limited.