Zimbabwe chrome ore export ban boosts competitors amid South Africa's tax uncertainty

August 13, 2021 / www.metalbulletin.com / Article Link

Zimbabwe has banned exports of raw chrome ore with immediate effect and will ban exports of chrome concentrates from July 2022 in order to secure its ferro-chrome industry, the country's cabinet announced on August 3, in a move which proponents of a South African chrome ore export tax believe has strengthened their case.

"A [total of] 22 smelters are now operating and are shared among nine foreign and local companies," Zimbabwe's minister of information Monica Mutsvangwa said in a post-cabinet press briefing on August 3. "Unless chrome mining capacity is expanded, the smelting operations could soon face the challenge of insufficient feedstock in the form of chrome ore."
Miners such as Europe-based Tharisa have been attracted to Zimbabwe by its large chrome ore reserves and would not have been expecting a ban on foreign sales.
Zimbabwe has the world's second-largest reserves of high-grade chromium ore after South Africa, with deposits of about 10 billion tonnes, equivalent to around 12% of the global total, according to the Zimbabwean Ministry of Mines & Mining Development.

After the announcement was made, ore investors were seeking clarification about the implications of the ban, such as what products were involved and how Special Economic Zones would...

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