Mnangagwa dangles mining titles to Chiefs and war veterans

Government has granted authority for traditional leaders and war veterans to acquire mining tittles as part of efforts to broaden the participation of communities in the mining sector.

In addition, Cabinet also approved an exemption on the ban of export of chrome ore by some companies to allow them to complete the construction and expansion of furnace and processing facilities.

This was announced by Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa at the post-Cabinet briefing yesterday.

The initiatives are part of moves towards the achievement of a US$12 billion mining industry by 2023.

"Following the boom in the mining sector, Government has seen it fit to broaden participation of communities in the sector.  To that end, Cabinet wishes to advise the nation that it granted the request by the following traditional leaders to acquire mining titles in reserved areas for the benefit of their communities: Tefra Mining Syndicate (Chief Marange), Goromonzi Mining Trust (Chiefs Rusike, Chinamhora, Chikwaka), Chinamhora Mining Syndicate (Chief Chinamhora), Chiwara Mining Syndicate (Chief Chiwara), Bere SP Mining Syndicate (Chief Bere) and Budiriro Mining Syndicate (Chief Chiweshe).

"Cabinet further granted the request by war veterans for mining titles," she said.

Chiefs have for years been lobbying Government to grant them access to the minerals available in their areas as this would increase their communities' participation in economic activities and improve the people's livelihoods.

Minister Mutsvangwa said Cabinet had also approved applications that were made to correct technical anomalies that existed in some mining syndicates.

She said the approved applications were for the optimisation of operations for Inglehart Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd, Jubilee Mine), Scarfbrook Services (Pvt Ltd), Dorcas Mining Syndicate, Moral Capital Zimbabwe (Pvt Ltd), Exodus and Company and Premier Portland Cement Zimbabwe.

"Cabinet approved a proposal through which part of the Mashava Reservations held by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development will be allocated to 11 syndicates. These syndicates will be from each of the eight administrative districts of Masvingo Province with three other syndicates being solely for youth, war veterans and women to supply chrome ores to Zimbabwe Zhongxin Smelting Company (ZZSC). The company is a new ferrochrome smelting project based in Mashava, Masvingo Province with capacity to generate about US$88 million and create 200 jobs locally," Minister Mutsvangwa added.

In relation to the temporary suspension of the ban on chrome ore exports, Cabinet agreed that this would be done to enable companies to invest in the beneficiation of the mineral.

In April 2021, Zimbabwe banned with immediate effect the export of lumpy chrome ores and the export of chrome concentrates effective from July 2022.

The rationale for banning the export of ores and concentrates was for companies to invest in the requisite facilities to value-add ferrochrome.

"This policy still stands, and companies have started the process of constructing smelting furnaces. To enable these companies to raise the necessary capital, Cabinet has approved recommendations by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development for the exemption on the ban of export of chrome ores by the concerned companies, in order to complete the construction and expansion of furnace and processing facilities," said minister Mutsvangwa.

Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando stressed that the reprieve was solely for the purposed of allowing companies that already had plans to construct or expand their furnaces when the ban was effected.

"The ban on the export of chrome ores and concentrate remains in place. At the time when the ban was put in place, there were some companies who in their business model were engaged in construction and expansion of their furnace processing capacity based on proceeds from the export of chrome concentrates.

"So it is only those companies which approached the Government and at the time of the ban, had put in their business model the export of chrome concentrates and that the revenue coming from there would be being used to complete the construction and expansion," he said.

He said the ban had to some extent compromised these companies' ability to timeously complete the planned construction and expansion.

"Because Government wants to see increased beneficiation, it has allowed those companies a once off exemption to export some agreed tonnages so that they complete the construction and expansion of furnace capacity. The time these concentrates are finished being exported, we will have increased capacity which is in line with NDS 1," the Minister added.