The Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe says sustained lobbying and engagement with government has delivered a series of policy gains that are improving the operating environment for mining companies and strengthening Zimbabwe’s case as an investment destination, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Kelvin Sungiso
The industry body used the Africa Down Under conference in Perth to highlight those reforms to international investors, positioning the changes as evidence that government and the private sector can work together to address concerns affecting mining investment.
Speaking on the sidelines of the conference at the Zimbabwe Mining and Energy Symposium, Chamber of Mines President Fungai Makoni said the organisation’s engagement with government had produced tangible results while creating a platform for investors to raise emerging concerns.
Against that backdrop, Makoni urged Australian investors to look beyond Zimbabwe’s mineral potential and engage directly with the local mining industry, saying the Chamber was prepared to help investors navigate policy and operational issues through continued dialogue with government.
“We would like to encourage Australian investors to seriously consider the Zimbabwe mining space and, in so doing, join the Chamber of Mines so that we can assist with emerging issues that may require proactive lobbying and advocacy.
“We want to highlight to potential investors, both foreign and local, that we certainly do have a listening Government that is willing to work with the private sector to improve the investment environment for the mining sector,” he said.
Makoni said the policy gains demonstrated the value of constructive engagement between government and industry, particularly at a time when Zimbabwe is seeking to attract fresh capital, expand mineral production and deepen investment across the mining value chain.
Among the gains highlighted by the Chamber was the recognition of mining royalties as a deductible expense for tax purposes, bringing the fiscal treatment of the cost more closely into line with the economics of mining operations.
The industry also successfully advocated for a competitive, price-linked royalty regime for minerals. According to Makoni, the approach is particularly important for vulnerable subsectors such as gold mining, where movements in international commodity prices can have a direct bearing on margins and project viability.
The push for greater fiscal predictability extends to the treatment of tax losses.
The Chamber secured the retention of the indefinite carryover of tax losses after Treasury had proposed removing the provision from the fiscal regime. For mining companies, where projects can require substantial capital expenditure years before reaching full production, the continuation of the provision provides greater certainty over the treatment of losses generated during the investment phase.
The industry also succeeded in retaining the full deductibility of capital expenditure incurred on exploration, mine development and operations, another area where the Chamber engaged government after proposals were made to alter the existing tax treatment.
That concession is particularly significant for an industry in which billions of dollars can be committed before a project begins generating returns. Maintaining the deductibility of qualifying capital expenditure helps preserve the economics of exploration and the development of new mines.
Beyond taxation, the Chamber pointed to progress in streamlining mining fees and levies under the broader ease-of-doing-business reforms.
Reducing the number of regulatory hurdles and administrative costs is intended to make mining operations more efficient while improving Zimbabwe’s competitiveness against other jurisdictions seeking the same pool of international mining capital.
Foreign exchange has also remained central to the industry’s engagement with government.
The Chamber cited the availability of adequate foreign currency for mining companies to meet operational, capital and dividend requirements as another important outcome of its advocacy.
For mining companies, reliable access to foreign exchange is critical because operations depend heavily on imported machinery, equipment, consumables and technical services. It also affects companies’ ability to fund expansion projects and meet obligations to shareholders and other stakeholders.
Energy has been another key focus of the industry’s engagement.
The Chamber secured the prioritisation of mining companies in the allocation of available electricity by the power utility, recognising the sector’s dependence on reliable power for continuous production.
The issue is particularly important for energy-intensive operations, where interruptions or inadequate supplies can quickly translate into lost production and higher operating costs.
The ferrochrome industry has received more targeted support, with the Chamber’s advocacy contributing to the implementation of a special electricity tariff for ferrochrome producers aligned with international averages.
The measure is aimed at restoring the competitiveness of ferrochrome producers, which have faced mounting pressure from high electricity costs and challenging market conditions.
Investment policy has also featured prominently in the Chamber’s engagement with government.
Makoni pointed to the exemption of existing and operating mining companies from the equity requirements of the Indigenisation Act as another important achievement, while the industry continues to work with government on an acceptable framework for local content and economic empowerment.
The objective is to strike a balance between increasing local participation in mining and maintaining an investment environment capable of attracting and retaining international capital.
That balance is increasingly important as Zimbabwe seeks to move beyond simply extracting minerals and attract investment into processing, beneficiation and other parts of the mining value chain.
The Chamber has also expanded its focus beyond traditional fiscal and regulatory concerns to sustainability.
Makoni said the organisation had developed a voluntary sustainability reporting template that mining companies can adopt and internalise.
The framework gives companies a common basis for reporting environmental, social and governance issues while allowing individual operations to determine how it fits into their existing sustainability programmes.
Taken together, the ten achievements span taxation, royalties, energy, foreign exchange, investment policy, regulation, empowerment and sustainability, reflecting the breadth of issues that can influence an investor’s decision to commit capital to a mining jurisdiction.
For the Chamber, the reforms also demonstrate that policy advocacy can translate into practical changes when government and industry maintain an open channel of communication.
That message was particularly relevant in Perth, where Zimbabwe was seeking to position its mineral wealth alongside improvements in the policy and investment environment.
The country’s mining industry remains a major source of export earnings, fiscal revenue, employment and investment, making the stability of the sector’s operating environment critical to Zimbabwe’s broader economic ambitions.
As the country seeks to attract new capital and expand production, the Chamber’s advocacy points to a broader investment proposition: mineral resources may provide the initial attraction, but the predictability of taxation, access to power and foreign currency, regulatory efficiency and the willingness of government to engage with investors can ultimately determine whether projects move from opportunity to investment.
For Zimbabwe, that policy credibility will be increasingly important as it competes for capital with established mining jurisdictions across Africa and beyond.
