The southern
African country requires all exporters to retain only 70% of their proceeds in
foreign currency, with the balance being converted to local currency.
The world’s
third largest producer of platinum group metals after neighbour South Africa
and Russia, says it needs the foreign currency to fund vital imports and repay
foreign loans.
Platinum
producers in Zimbabwe, who include Valterra Platinum, Impala Platinum’s
Zimplats, and Mimosa, a joint venture between Impala and Sibanye Stillwater,
exported PGM mattes and concentrates worth $690 million in the first half of
this year, government data shows.
However, the
government has not been paying the miners the local currency equivalent of
their export earnings since January, an official at the mining chamber told
Reuters.
Deputy finance
minister Kuda Mnangagwa confirmed that the government had fallen behind on
paying the miners.
“There were
issues of cash flow constraints, particularly in the first quarter of the year
when our revenue collections are at their lowest,” Mnangagwa told Reuters on
Tuesday.
He added that
the government was talking to platinum miners to ensure “that these delays
don’t burden their operations”.
Platinum group
metals, used to make catalytic converters that curb vehicle emissions, are
Zimbabwe’s second most valuable mineral export, behind gold.
Zimbabwe
exported gold worth $1.8 billion during the first half of 2025, up from $870
million during the same period last year, thanks to record high bullion prices.
Gold producers
have also complained about Zimbabwe’s foreign currency retention rule, which
they say eats into their income when part of their export proceeds are
converted into an overvalued local currency.
(By Chris
Takudzwa Muronzi; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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