Mnangagwa promises a lot but can he deliver?

At the February conference, executives said the government needed to act quickly to capitalize on the current recovery in commodity prices.

Mhembere said Zimplats could easily double or even triple its output from the metal deposits it currently mines.

To do so, the company still wants to see whether the government is willing to ease local ownership requirements also for platinum miners or allow it to process some of its metal in neighboring South Africa, he said.

“We need consistency of policies,” he said.

Yet, at the February conference, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga announced a new penalty tax on platinum exporters that don’t refine locally.

Other miners say they are still facing delays.

“Zimbabwe is not an easy country to do business,” said Victor Tskhovrebov, chief executive of coal miner Liberation Mining, whose Zimbabwean mine is being held up by slow licensing.

“There is still a long way to go.”

By Alexandra Wexler for the Wall Street Journal

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