The Federation of Zimbabwe Miners acting chief executive, Caas De Wolf, told The Zimbabwean that mining companies from Australia, Canada and South Africa, among others, were probing the local market for possible investment in droves.
De Wolf was at an official opening of The Manicaland Small-scale Traders Association (MSSTA) a retail shop in Chimoio last Saturday. He said the investors appeared convinced Zimbabwe was poised for an economic upturn, and wanted to position themselves ahead of the shift.
“There is huge interest shown by foreign investors. Recently I was talking to some people from the UK representing a number of companies having a look at Zimbabwe,” he said. “I am certain that if the economy picked up again, there would be an influx of foreign investment coming into the mining sector, judging from the interest being shown.
He said apart from the optimism about Zimbabwe’s economic upturn, foreign investors were attracted by the broad range of mineral resources the country had.
“Zimbabwe has 40 minerals that can be commercially exploited – plenty of diamonds, platinum, coal, gold, chrome and others – these are very attractive,” he said. De Wolf said the wide mineral range was uncommon, and this translated to a major advantage for the country.
Even local companies are also looking ahead, with Rio Zim and Bindura Nickel Corporation recently announcing plans to start greenfield mining projects involving copper, gold and nickel, said De Wolf.
Mining is one of the country’s biggest economic players, and a top foreign currency earner.
Post published in: Economy