Amplats: Zim smelter to take two years to build

Published Mar 23, 2015

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ANGLO American Platinum’s (Amplats) Zimbabwe unit said on Friday that it would take two years to build a new smelter to comply with President Robert Mugabe’s demands for firms to process platinum locally. The government in January introduced a 15 percent export tax on unrefined platinum and Amplats said last month the levy would cost the company about $10 million (R120m) a year. Colin Chibafa, the chief financial officer at Amplats’ Unki Mines, said the company was planning to carry out a study on how much it would require to build a smelter and whether it could be operated profitably. “Assuming all detailed study work has been completed and all necessary regulatory approvals obtained, it will take approximately two years to construct a new greenfield smelter.” – Reuters

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