Rio Tinto warns against Zim’s mining indigenisation

CAPE TOWN – Rio Tinto said yesterday that Zimbabwe’s planned indigenisation of mines posed a major threat to its diamond operation in the country.

Harry Kenyon-Slaney, Rio’s chief executive for diamonds and minerals, praised plans by the Zimbabwe government of national unity to seek dialogue with mining companies on the planned reforms, such as indigenisation, which authorities say are aimed at empowering locals by handing them a stake in the mines.’We are staying on course in Murowa in Zimbabwe, the only threat to our operations is the indegenisation programmes,’ Kenyon-Slaney told a mining conference in Cape Town.’Partnerships are also a key focus of our Murowa diamond mine in Zimbabwe,’ Slaney-Kenyon said.Kenyon-Slaney said Rio planned to invest in new projects and expand its mining portfolio in Africa, where it has operations in diamonds, uranium, iron ore and mineral sands projects.’We will continue to improve our operations and look at other growth projects,’ he said.Kenyon-Slaney said political problems in Madagascar and Guinea, where the company is developing mining projects, were also a source of concern even though growth in Africa remained the firm’s ‘most exciting prospect’. – Nampa-Reuters