Zimbabwe cabinet cuts mining fees to boost investment

The Zimbabwean government has approved sweeping reductions in licences, permits and levies in the mining sector as part of broader reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business and attracting investment.

Announcing the decision after a Cabinet meeting in Harare, Acting Information Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu said the measures were in line with earlier resolutions to reform key sectors of the economy.

"Cabinet approved the streamlining of duplicated and overlapping regulatory licences and permits, removed unnecessary levies and fees and lowered unjustifiably high charges in the mining sector," he said.

Under the reforms, multiple licences and permits will now be consolidated under a single regulatory authority to reduce bureaucracy. Some fees have been scrapped altogether, including the trading on mining location fee, while others — such as diamond cutting and polishing licence fees — have been reduced.

New fees have also been introduced, including a permit for gold jewellery and a registration fee for approved lithium processing plants. Registration fees for precious stones will now be payable every five years, easing the burden on operators.

The reforms also standardise Rural District Councils land development levies and reduce inspection fees for mining claims across base minerals, precious metals and mining leases.

Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said the adjustments are designed to unlock investment, particularly in high-value minerals like lithium.

"We introduced a fee of US$100 as an application fee for registration of an approved processing plant for lithium. These projects cost hundreds of millions of dollars, so this is not a significant burden," he said.

Ncube explained that only about 20 percent of the fees were revised, with the majority left unchanged as they were already considered reasonable.

The government is also advancing broader policy and legislative reforms, including the review of the Mines and Minerals Act, the development of a Minerals Development Policy, and the rollout of a Mining Cadastre System to improve transparency and accountability in the allocation and management of mining rights.

Authorities say the reforms will also support the formalisation of small-scale miners and strengthen regulatory oversight across the sector.

The move forms part of a wider government strategy under President Emmerson Mnangagwa to enhance economic competitiveness and promote investment under the "Zimbabwe is Open for Business" policy framework.