Harare - Zimbabwe is considering a ban on raw platinum
exports in a bid to force miners to set up refineries in the country, but this
move will not take place “overnight”, a government official said on Wednesday.
The country has the second-largest known
platinum reserves in the world after South Africa, and the top
two global producers, Anglo Platinum [JSE:AMS] and Impala Platinum Holdings
[JSE:IMP], have operations there.
Both Amplats and Implats currently send platinum concentrate
from their Zimbabwean mines to South African refineries but the Zimbabwe
government has over the years tried to encourage the firms into processing the
metal locally.
Deputy Mines Minister Gift Chimanikire told Reuters that the
government, which restored a ban on raw chrome exports earlier this year to
promote local smelting, was now focusing on platinum producers.
“They need to start investing in a refinery in Zimbabwe. We
need value-addition for our minerals here, we cannot keep exporting jobs,”
Chimanikire said.
“We're not saying it’s going to be overnight. We’re ringing
the alarm bells to show we're not sleeping.”
Platinum producers have said Zimbabwe’s current production
is insufficient to sustain a viable refinery. The Zimplats operations
of Implats currently operate the largest mine in the country, with production capacity of
180 000 ounces annually.
Mimosa, Implats’ 50:50 joint venture with Aquarius Platinum [JSE:AQP],
accounted for more than 20% of Aquarius’ total attributable output of 487 404 platinum group metals ounces for the full year, while Amplats’ Unki mine produced 22 000 ounces
in the first half of 2011.
Industry players have talked up the possibility of a
refinery being set up in the country five years from now, when the major
producers are expected to have ramped up output.
Chimanikire says the government would want to see definite
steps towards that target.
“I’m not arguing with that. Let them demonstrate to us that
in five years’ time, that will happen.”