In December, Zimbabwe banned raw lithium exports, targeting
marauding artisanal miners who were digging up old mines in
search of the mineral. However, the ban triggered fears Zimbabwe could be
defaulting to a resource nationalism stance, four years after
the government scrapped a law that required local control of all
major mines.
(Reporting by Nelson Banya;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
HARARE, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's central bank on
Thursday said it will allow exporters, including miners, to keep
75% of their export earnings in foreign currency after the
current cap of 60% drew complaints from the industry.
The new measure, however, falls short of miners' demands to
keep 80% of their export earnings in foreign currency.
The foreign currency-starved southern African country
requires all exporters to convert part of their export earnings
into local currency at an official exchange rate significantly
higher than the widely used black market exchange rate, leading
to losses for the businesses.
Some international miners with operations in Zimbabwe
include Anglo American Platinum , Impala Platinum , Sibanye Stillwater , Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt , Sinomine Resource Group , Tsingshan
Holding Group and Sinosteel Corporation.
"Export retentions have been increased and standardised at
75% across all sectors," the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) said
in a monetary policy statement on Thursday.
Zimbabwe has significant mineral resources, including gold,
platinum group metals, coal and lithium, which has attracted
international firms, especially from China. Over the years, the
country has struggled to attract significant foreign investment
due to concerns over foreign currency rules and policy
uncertainty.
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