In Zimbabwe the government may take over all mines that do not sell their majority stake to locals by September 2011. This announcement was made by Indigenization and Economic Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere on state television.
The minister said that what they were doing now doing as government was basically to invoke the law and ensure that they, as government, take over those assets if they are not prepared to compromise with the position of government.
As per a new law foreign-owned miners must cede or sell 51 percent of their shares to black Zimbabweans or government- approved agencies. The law is called the Indigenization and Empowerment Act. Under it white Zimbabweans and foreigners cannot own assets worth more than $1 million.
173 mining companies were affected by this law and have already submitted plans to the Zimbabwean government explaining how they will dilute their foreign or white shareholdings. Unfortunately the minister feels that the plans are falling short of expectations.
Zimbabwe holds some of the world's largest platinum reserves being mined by Anglo-American and Impala Platinum. The Marange diamond fields, discovered in 2006, are considered the biggest diamond find in over a century. They have the potential to improve the fiscal situation of the country considerably, however almost all revenues from the field have disappeared in to the pockets of army officers and ZANU-PF politicians.
Zimbabwe is the biggest trading partner of South Africa on the continent.