SA firm first victim of Zimbabwe law

Harare - Zimbabwe's black empowerment minister says he is ordering the withdrawal of the mining rights for the country's biggest platinum producer.

Saviour Kasukuwere said on Wednesday the South African-controlled Zimplats company failed to comply with an August 31 deadline requiring foreign businesses to say how they propose to yield a 51% stockholding to black Zimbabweans.

He says the Zimplats licence will be revoked in coming days, making it the first major mining enterprise to be suspended under the nation's "indigenisation" laws critics say scare off much-needed investment in the troubled economy.

Zimbabwe and South Africa are the world's largest suppliers of platinum, a corrosion-resistant metal with a wide range of industrial uses that is priced higher than gold.