Zimbabwe hands platinum concession to firm linked to Nigerian billionaire

ZIMBABWE’S plan to accelerate the development of its platinum group metal (PGM) sector has taken another turn with the country awarding a concession to mine the metal to Bavura Holdings, a company which has Nigerian billionaire, Benedict Peters, as a shareholder, said Reuters.

The concession comes just over a year after President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government signed an agreement with Cyprus-based Karo Resources to develop a $4.2bn  integrated platinum mine, said the newswire.

Peters, who is based in Ghana, is the founder of Aiteo Group, which has interests in oil, said Reuters.

Mines Minister Winston Chitando said last month the government would name two new investors to develop separate platinum mining projects west of the capital.

Bloomberg News reported on May 16 that proposals aimed at building Zimbabwe’s largest PGM mine was struggling to attract financial backers because a military company is one of the project’s shareholders.

Citing documents it has seen, the newswire said that Zimbabwe Defence Industries – a company once sanctioned by the US – and Zimbabwe Mining Development hold 30% of a joint venture known as Great Dyke Investments.

The African Export-Import Bank has the mandate to raise capital for the project, estimated by the Zimbabwe government to cost $4bn to build, but investors have not been persuaded to back it, including South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation. The African Export-Import Bank has pledged $192m of its own money, said Bloomberg News.