Harare’s repossession plan opposed

Impala Platinum (Implats) said last week that its Zimbabwean unit had 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 that it planned to take away land belonging to Implats unit Zimbabwe Platinum Mines in a move 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,” it said. The official objection means that the government cannot arbitrarily seize the mining claims. If it insists, Zimplats can approach the local court. Implats in January agreed to sell a majority stake in Zimplats to local black investors for $971 million (R8.9 billion) to meet black ownership targets set by President Robert Mugabe. Implats closed 0.82 percent higher at R135.60 on Thursday. – Reuters