Zimbabwe government is carrying out due diligence on the alleged irregular and now disputed transfer of NewZim Minerals' iron ore claims to a former employee of NewZim Steel Limited, formerly Ziscosteel.
Mines and Mining Development Deputy Minister Gift Chimanikire confirmed that the government was now waiting for the final report.
He said that "We are doing due diligence over who now owns the (iron ore) claims and how the transfer was done. The question is how the (Gweru) mining commissioner issued the claims to an individual on a reserved area. It is an ownership issue."
Deputy Minister Chimanikire said a team from the ministry had visited Masvingo, Mwenezi and Gweru on an audit trail to establish how the irregular transfer of claims had occurred.
This follows difficulties that have emerged around the transfer of iron ore claims to new co-shareholders in NewZim Steel and NewZim Minerals. This has delayed the process to revive the former steel manufacturer. The Government had a majority stake in the renamed companies before Essar Africa Holdings bought a controlling shareholding in each of them last year.
But the Mauritius-registered conglomerate, owned by Essar Global of India, has not started reviving the dormant steel giant due to problems around concessions considered crucial for a successful rebirth of the company.
Deputy Minister Chimanikire said as the licence issuing authority, the ministry had the right to exercise due diligence over transfer of mineral claims.
Irregularities emerged after it was discovered that the claims could not be transferred to NewZim Minerals as they were registered in the name of an individual. The individual is alleged to have used inside information to acquire the claims as a former employee of NewZim Minerals, formerly Ziscosteel.
This brings an intriguing dimension to the planned revival of NewZim Steel, which was brought to its knees by financial constraints three years ago.
It is understood there are serious concerns over ownership of iron ore reserves, with fears centering on the possibility of NewZim Mineral, majority-owned by Essar, controlling most of the iron ore mineral reserves.
(Sourced from The Herald)
