Zimbabwe government said that it will soon impose a law to ban the export of raw chrome. It will hold a follow up meeting with producers and chromite exporters to explain its position, the key element of which is a statutory insistence on value addition to the mineral before it can be traded on the international markets.

Mr Obert Mpofu mines & mining development minister of Zimbabwe said that the proposed ban on raw chrome exports was a loss control measure, which aimed to plug one of the major holes through which the country had been losing a lot of revenue.

He added that "We have already spoken to some producers and exporters on the issue. The country is losing a lot of revenue through the unregulated sale of such high value minerals resources as chrome and chromite products, which would generate huge revenues if sold through the right channels."

He said that some producers, such as the Zimbabwe Mining and Smelting Company and Zimbabwe Alloys, were already smelting raw chrome into such semi finished products as ferrochrome. He added that "The government will seek to promote small scale miners while imposing this total ban on chrome exports before value addition. The international market is still very good for chrome, so we hope to cash in while it lasts."

(Sourced from www.miningweekly.com)