  | |
| |
 |
|
| ||
Impala stands behind 2006 Zim pact Posted: Thu, 27 Sep 2007 [miningmx.com] -- IN a carefully worded statement, Impala Platinum said it had security of tenure to produce at least 1 million oz/year of platinum from its Zimbabwean operations for 50 years. This follows news of legislation passed by the Zimbabwean government which is asking foreign-owned companies to sell 51% of their shares to local businesses. Impala, which has an 87% stake in Zimplats, said an agreement it signed with the Zimbabwean government in May 2006 would be taken into account when looking at its overall compliance. In terms of the agreement, Zimplats agreed to sell a third of its mineral resources in return for 19.5% localisation ‘credits’ and $51m in cash, or 29.25% if no cash was received. David Brown, Impala Platinum CEO, confirmed no cash had been received from the Zimbabwean government therefore Impala was assuming it had at least 29.25% localisation credits. These credits excluded others it would receive for spending on development. “We built a 77km road and invested in housing and schools in Zimbabwe,” said Brown in an interview. He believed these efforts would provide Impala with extra credits although the quantum had not been decided. “We have an agreement,” said Brown. Impala’s share price was barely changed and closed at R243/share. Privately, however, the new legislation is causing alarm for Impala. Miningmx reported on August 30 that Zimplats chairman, Mike Houston, was trying to get clarification on how the legislation would affect his company’s standing. Houston told Miningmx that his company was talking to Robert Mugabe's government to compel it to recognise the 2006 agreement signed between the parties. More importantly, draft legislation on which today’s enactment is presumably based, made no provision for previous deals. “At this juncture, although it's early days in terms of the negotiations, there appears to be no provision for empowerment credits for social and infrastructure spending in the draft bill and this is of serious concern to Zimplats in view of our agreement with the government,” Houston said in a letter to shareholders in August. Brown said he had not seen the enacted legislation so could not say if it differed from the draft legislation. Click Here to subscribe to our daily newsletter
| ||||||||
0% 
