Zimbabwe court rules Impala Platinum not liable for royalty

Zimbabwe’s High court said Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd.’s local unit is not liable to pay mining royalties of $7.1 million on exports matte and concentrates.

The court ruled in favor of Zimplats after the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority determined the company owed royalties for the period between June 2018 and December 2021. The court said that no royalty rate had been set for such products over that period.

“It is therefore my considered view that matte and concentrate, as mineral-bearing products, cannot attract the same royalties as minerals that have gone through the refinery process,” High Court Judge Rodgers Manyangadze said in his ruling.

Zimbabwe has the world’s third-largest platinum reserves after South Africa and Russia and generates more than half of its revenues from mineral exports. Besides Impala, Sibanye Stillwater Ltd. and Valterra Platinum Ltd. also have platinum interests in the southern African country.

(By Godfrey Marawanyika)