Zimbabwe has banned the export of chrome ore, the mines ministry said Tuesday, in a move aimed at boosting local smelters that will now have to process the mineral before its sale overseas.
The ministry said the ban would take effect from Wednesday, following an 18-month review of the country's chrome export policy.
“We wish to advise all exporters of lumpy chrome that with effect from this date, no more exports shall be entertained,” the ministry said in a notice.
Zimbabwe has nine chrome smelters capable of handling 1.5 million tonnes of ore per year, according to the Zimbabwe Miners' Federation.
“The nine iron smelting companies have the capacity to haul all extracted chrome ore,” the federation's president Wellington Takavarasha was quoted as saying by the state-owned Herald.
Mining is the main driver of Zimbabwe's economy and the government considers chrome among the most important minerals, along with gold and diamonds. - Sapa-AFP