Resumen de Zimbabwe passes new mining act as mineral production ramps up

Industrial Minerals

• Mnangagwa has pushed to secure the new mining laws ahead of a planned July 30 general election.The old Mines and Minerals Act was outdated, having been initially passed by the white minority-based Rhodesian regime in 1961, amended under the Mugabe government in 1996 regarding rules on special leases. The revised law removed that requirement for mining operations for all minerals, except diamond and platinum.The president of the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe, Batirai Manhando, said at his organization’s annual general meeting in May that the chamber had worked with the new government to reform the legislation. Economics spokesman for the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, Eddie Cross told Industrial Minerals that the appointment of Chitando, a former mining executive, after Mnangagwa’s rise to power, as well as the new law have started to give confidence to investors.Noting that the old law was very outdated, he added that the legal recognition of small-scale miners so that they can enjoy legal title over their mineral rights, including security of tenure is a significant development.