by Brian Latham
Platinum companies in Zimbabwe should benefit from a two-year suspension of a 15 percent tax on exports of unprocessed ore provided they complete a local refinery within that time, Mines Minister Walter Chidakwa said.
The government has repeatedly warned miners that taxes and royalties will be raised unless the mineral is smelted in the country rather than in neighboring South Africa. Companies operating in Zimbabwe include Anglo American Plc’s platinum unit and Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd., the world’s two biggest producers of the metal.
[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560″]
“Cabinet accepted my report saying the miners should be given a reprieve, provided they commit to expanding the smelter at Zimplats,” Chidakwa by phone from the capital, Harare, referring to Impala’s unit in the country. He said he’s confident the smelter will be ready in under two years.
Zimbabwe has the world’s largest known reserves of the precious metal after neighboring South Africa, which currently refines Zimbabwe’s platinum ore.(Bloomberg)