Nothing strategic about Copper, Lithium – Kawara
There is nothing strategic about the mining of base minerals namely copper and lithium due to their vastness and easy extraction, National Gemstones Miners Association (NGMA) Chairperson Mr Walter Kawara said.
Rudairo Mapuranga
Speaking at the inaugural Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill public hearing held at New Ambassador Hotel in the capital on Monday, Kawara said the issue of strategic minerals should be looked into as making other Minerals strategic will lead to a situation where the country will only benefit from employment and taxes while the rest of the minerals will be siphoned away through fancy words like Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
“The Chinese are coming and digging in people’s farms, the country is being defrauded by corruption. The law of strategic minerals should prioritize the local people. The local people should be the ones to mine minerals like lithium and copper. This law should look into communities, the government should educate locals on mining strategic minerals. There is nothing strategic with copper and lithium. People should register and mine these minerals. The (strategic) should come to the processing part of these stones. Mining copper and lithium is very easy.
“The strategic minerals are being mined by foreigners and the locals will only benefit from taxes which is ridiculous. Mining fees should differ from foreign to local people.
“Let us prescribe laws that will protect the rights and interests of Zimbabweans,” Kawara said.
Under the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill Copper, lithium, nuclear energy source materials, rare earth minerals, diamonds, gaseous hydrocarbons and nickel have been classified as strategic.
The Government has also directed that on applications for inspection certificates, the applicants should submit a declaration of the amount of work carried out on mining claims as well as a declaration of minerals contained in the ore body being mined.