Chinese investors elbow out local chrome miners

An investigation has revealed that the Zimbabwe Mining and Alloy Smelting Company (Zimasco) has replaced around 150 small-scale chrome miners with Chinese investors, raising concerns about discrimination against local operators.

The affected miners claim their exclusion violates the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) Act and the Constitution, which prohibit discrimination between local and foreign investors. Section 13 of the ZIDA Act ensures that foreign and domestic investors receive equal treatment, while Section 56 of the Constitution mandates the State to correct unequal treatment of citizens and permanent residents.

In November 2023, Zimasco shut down small-scale mining operations across Mutorashanga, Mhondoro, Lalapanzi, Shurugwi, Mashava, Mberengwa, and Neta. These local miners had been subcontracted by Zimasco since 2008 to extract chrome on its claims and supply the company.

However, Chinese mining companies have since taken over, with some reportedly selling chrome to buyers outside Zimbabwe. The local miners, known as tributors, have questioned why they were forced to stop operations while the foreign miners continue uninterrupted.

Zimasco attributed the shutdown to power cuts, declining international chrome prices, and other economic challenges, but local miners dispute these claims. According to Zimasco tributors' committee chairperson Robert Antonio, the decision to terminate their contracts was communicated verbally rather than in writing, breaking with past practices.

The tributors were allegedly promised they could resume operations by June 2024, but this has not materialized. Antonio also claims that Chinese miners have taken over areas where local miners had invested time and resources in developing chrome claims.

"The local mining contractors were stopped from mining in November 2023," Antonio said. "But there are Chinese contractors who have continued mining in the very same belts that were formerly mined by local miners under a contractual agreement with Zimasco."

Zimasco has also prevented the local miners from selling chrome ore they had already extracted, leaving the ore to lie idle while illegal miners reportedly steal and sell it, causing further losses for the tributors.

One miner, Spencer Mushayavanhu, accused Zimasco of favoring Chinese investors despite the long-standing contributions of local miners. He claimed that Zimasco introduced unrealistic demands, such as requiring individual miners to deliver 5,000 tonnes of chrome per month, knowing that small-scale miners lacked the necessary machinery.

Other miners echoed concerns over unfair practices, including allegations that Zimasco purchased chrome from Chinese companies at higher prices than local miners, even though the local suppliers provided higher-quality ore.

"I was forced out of business by unfair practices," said Petnas Badze, a female miner. "They classified my ore as low grade, even when I knew it was high grade. When I demanded it back to sell elsewhere, they claimed it had already been smelted."

Some of the displaced miners, who have lived in Zimasco-owned houses for years, now face eviction as their income streams have been disrupted.

The miners have petitioned Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Owen Ncube, who reportedly promised that operations would resume. However, Ncube has since declined to comment on the matter, and ZIDA's CEO, Tafadzwa Chinamo, has yet to provide a formal response to inquiries.

Zimasco CEO John Musekiwa initially said the company would respond to questions in writing but later cited ongoing board meetings as the reason for the delay.