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Harare - South African miner Impala Platinum Holdings [JSE:IMP] (Implats) said on Thursday its Zimbabwean unit has launched an objection to Harare's plans to repossess nearly half of its mining claims.
The Zimbabwean government published a notice on March 1 saying it planned to take away land belonging to Implats unit Zimbabwe Platinum Mines, in what it said would stop mining firms from holding onto claims for speculative reasons.
"Implats confirms that its subsidiary, (Zimplats) lodged an objection on 27 March 2013 to the preliminary notice with regard to the President's intention to acquire compulsorily 27 948 hectares of land held by Zimplats," Implats said in a statement.
The official objection means the government cannot arbitrarily seize the mining claims without agreeing with Zimplats. If it insists on repossessing the land, Zimplats can approach the local administrative court to stop the government.
Implats, the world's second-largest platinum miner, in January agreed to sell a majority stake in Zimplats to local black investors for $971m to meet black ownership targets set by President Robert Mugabe.
