Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Mines and Mining Development says it is to carry out on-site inspections of all new coal mining companies’ project sites and cancel special grants awarded to new coal mining companies that have failed to undertake any activities.

Mines and Mining Development Deputy Minister Gift Chimanikire tells Mining Weekly that the inspections are part of a wider crackdown against mining companies that continue to hold onto coal concessions for speculative purposes, thus depriving the National Treasury of potential revenue from the exploitation of the resources.

He says inspection teams from the Ministry will soon be deployed to Matabeleland North, the country’s main coal pro- ducing region, where more than 25 companies were awarded licences to prospect for and mine coal and coal-bed methane gas two years ago.

Of the 25 companies issued with special grants for coal and coal-bed methane gas in the Hwange, Gwayi, Lupane and Binga districts, only five have concluded the exploration stage and started mining operations, while two are at different stages of complying with mining and environmental laws prior to the start of mining activities.

Chimanikire says government decided to enforce the ‘use it, or lose it’ policy in the coal sector after realising that the majority of the companies which were issued with special grants in 2010 have not engaged in any exploration.

“The vast majority of the special grant holders are just sitting on the concessions while reaping huge benefits from using the resource for speculative purposes, which does not benefit the national economy. “I will be visiting the Hwange area with teams from the Ministry to conduct inspections to see what is happening in each concession covered by a special grant. “We are going to [cancel] all the special grants held by those who have not engaged in any activity or submitted mandatory reports outlining the stages and nature of their exploration or mining activities to the chief mining commissioner,” Chimanikire says.

He says government will this year focus on ensuring maximum use of resources in the coal sector owing to growing international interest in Zimbabwe’s coal. He adds that government is in the final stages of negotiations with the Japan Oil, Gas & Metals National Corporation, which aims to import up to 15-million tons of coal from Zimbabwe each year.

Chimanikire says that, if fully exploited, Zimbabwe will be able to meet coal demand from Japan and many other countries as it has a coal resource base estimated at over 20-billion tons.

The crackdown on “idle” special grants in the coal sector follows revelations that the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development last year withdrew nearly 100 exclusive prospecting orders (EPOs) from companies which had failed to develop their claims.

Mines and Mining Development permanent secretary Prince Mupazviriho says the EPOs were withdrawn following failure by the holders to respond to the Ministry’s call to confirm their interest in retaining the claims.

He says the Ministry will continue to repossess mining claims which are lying idle or are partially developed and held for speculative purposes in order to make room for fresh investors in the lucrative sector.

Last year, the Zimbabwe government introduced various measures that are designed to force investors to use their claims. These include the introduction of ground rental fees and astronomical increases in application fees for diamond mining licences from $1-million to $5 million. The application fee for a platinum mining licence went up from $200 to $500 000.