Zimbabwe’s RioZim coal unit loses operating license after appeal

RioZim Ltd., a former unit of Rio Tinto Group, lost its operating license in Zimbabwe after the miner failed to develop a 2,800 megawatt coal-fired power plant.

The government cancelled the license for the Sengwa coal mine under its “use-it-or-lose-it” policy after a failed appeal, Secretary of Mines Pfungwa Kunaka wrote in a letter to the company seen by Bloomberg and confirmed by the ministry.

RioZim’s Wilson Gwatiringa, a director, confirmed the cancellation and declined to comment further, saying the dispute had gone to court.

The northern Zimbabwe mine had planned to develop a $3 billion coal-powered thermal power plant but the project failed to take off after Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. pulled out of the deal in 2021.

(By Godfrey Marawanyika)