The Act was passed by the Government of Zimbabwe and requires locals to own at least 51 percent of any firm earning US$1 from proceeds operating in Zimbabwe.
They include firms listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, such as Rio Zimbabwe Bindura Nickel Corporation and the struggling Whange Colliery Company.
Other heavyweights are Anglo American Corporation, Murowa Diamonds, Freda Rebecca Gold Mine, Bindura Nickle Corporation and Zimbabwe Platinum Mine.
Another little-known firm, DGL Investment Number Twenty, also wanted to be cleared, and made 20 applications under the name DGL Investments.
The Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment said 173 mining houses had applied for the consideration. The list also included the Chinese firm Anjin of Chiadzwa and the South African-based Alexander Forbes Holdings – better known for its business and investment magazine.
Other firms who have applied are the Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe, with its subsidiaries including G&W Industrial Minerals and Industrial sands.
Highdon Blue Diamond also said it was seeking permission to mine in Zimbabwe.
So did China-Zim International Corporation from Harare, Hong Ji Mineral development, Chinajin Baki Mining, Mimosa Holdings, and Dorowa Minerals Limited in Bindura.
There are several Chinese names in the line up. China is now the second major trading partner for cash-strapped Zimbabwe and insiders said they could easily take over the sector because they have the necessary cash and expertise.
Other firms listed by the ministry as having applied are: Empress Nickel Refinery, Sengwa Colliery, Shamva Marble, Turtle Mine, Buchwa Iron Mining Company located in Redcliff, and Kingross Investments at Number 173 located in Arcturus.
The moves comes as the Zimbabwe Monthly Economic Review, compiled by the African Development Bank Group, reports that the country's billion-dollar mining industry seems to be slowly but surely bouncing back – mainly due to favourable international commodity prices for its minerals.
Mining industry players maintain that the sector still needs more than $6 billion before it can return to where it was before 2000.
The Review said Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act was seriously hampering much-needed foreign investment into the cash-strapped nation.
"The mining sector in Zimbabwe has emerged as the anchor of the economic recovery process in Zimbabwe," it says. "Favourable international commodity prices for gold, nickel, platinum and copper among others, have improved the viability of mining concerns and resulted in the rejuvenation of operations, particularly in the platinum and gold sub-sectors. Against this background mineral output increased for gold (16,4 percent), diamonds (9,3 percent), platinum (8,6 percent), and chrome ore (6,5 percent) among others.
Zimbabwe's mining sector grew by 47 percent in 2010, beating agriculture which only shot up by 34 percent for the same period under review.
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