AQUARIUS/Impala platinum Zimbabwe venture transfers stake

Mimosa Mining, a Zimbabwean joint venture between Aquarius Platinum and Impala Platinum (Implats), had transferred a 10 percent stake to the community, Indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere said yesterday. The agreement was the first phase of the firm’s efforts to meet Zimbabwe’s black ownership law. Talks with Implats unit Zimplats were continuing and “making very good progress”, while Stanbic, Standard Bank’s Zimbabwean unit, submitted a plan that was being considered, Kasukuwere said. The Zimbabwean government wants proposals from foreign firms on how they will meet a law to sell 51 percent of local assets to black citizens. The law is focused on mining and financial services firms in a country with the second-biggest platinum and chrome reserves. Barclays and Standard Chartered had offered stakes of a “paltry 10 percent”, Kasukuwere said. “We are talking with them.” Implats slid 4.9 percent to R167.55 yesterday, and Aquarius fell 5.3 percent to R21.07. – Bloomberg Source