HARARE, March 22 (Reuters) – Zimbabwe has accepted a
proposal by Impala Platinum’s joint venture with
Aquarius Platinum to turn over a majority stake to
locals, a government minister said on Thursday.
Empowerment minister Saviour Kasukuwere said Mimosa mine
outside Harare, a 50-50 partnership between Implats and
Aquarius, will transfer 10 percent each to workers and local
communities, 6 percent to state employees and 25 percent to a
state fund.
“They have submitted a compliant 51 percent plan. It has
since been submitted to the ministry which has been accepted,”
Kasukuwere told reporters on the sidelines of an investment
conference.
The proposal comes more than a week after Implats bowed to
Harare’s demands that the world’s second largest platinum miner
transfer a similar stake in its Zimplats operation to
locals.
Implats has said the Zimbabwean government would have to pay
for the shares it wants.
On Thursday Kasukuwere said the agreement with Implats
should include an evaluation of assets and resources owned by
Zimplats but he did not give further details.
“At the end of the day we want a win-win situation. We need
a fair share of what is due to us,” he said.
Kasukuwere has previously said the cash strapped government
would not pay for shares in mines, arguing that it already owned
the mineral resources in the ground.
Zimbabwe, with the second-largest known platinum deposits in
the world after South Africa, is seen as a growth area for the
platinum sector.
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