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Harare - Zimbabwe is in talks with mining firms that have
requested more time to table their plans to transfer majority ownership in
their local operations to black investors in the country, the state-run Herald
newspaper said on Friday.
Firms such as Impala Platinum Holdings [JSE:IMP] local unit Zimplats have
asked for an extension of the deadline to submit empowerment plans.
"Our teams are now working with some mining companies that have asked for more time to work on their new proposals and we will keep the public updated on the developments," Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere told the Herald.
The paper said Zimplats was working on a proposal to submit
by the end of November, two months past the original deadline to transfer
majority stakes.
"It appears that the timeframe that Zimplats was given
to amend its proposal was short and the company has now requested for about two
months to work on another proposal," said the paper, which is widely seen
as an official government mouthpiece.
"A new proposal would be submitted to government before
the end of November. The new plan will have an element of the community share
ownership trust," Zimplats deputy chairperson Much Masunda was quoted as
saying.
Implats' shares fell more than 3% on Thursday on reports the
government was moving to revoke Zimplats' licence.
The shares recouped about two percent on Friday morning,
outpacing a 0.25% rise on the JSE Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index .
Zimplats' accounts for about 10% of Implats' annual group output of close to 1.8 million ounces of platinum.
