Zimbabwe’s deadline for the world’s biggest platinum producers to submit plans to build a refinery expired last week as it confirmed its decision to ban raw exports of the metal by year-end.

Secretary for Mines and Mining Develop-ment Francis Gudyanga “extended an invitation” to companies including the local units of Anglo American Platinum and Impala Platinum Holdings to bid for the rights to build platinum and base metal refineries.

The country’s producers will be compelled to send their ore to the plants, according to a January 3 letter to producers, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News.

As there has been no progress toward building a refinery, “government is reiterating its resolve to enforce the two-year period window, which ends in 2014, after which exports of raw platinum concentrates will not be permitted,” Gudyanga says in the letter.

The Platinum Producers Association, which represents the biggest producers, did not immediately respond to emailed questions.

Zimbabwe, which has the biggest platinum reserves after neighbouring South Africa, produces 430 000 oz/y, the document shows. The country’s platinum industry needs as much as $5.3-billion if it is to expand to more than 500 000 oz of output and to construct refineries to process platinum-group metals and industrial metals extracted from the same orebodies, according to the platinum producers group.

Zimbabwe is trying to boost the value of its exports as it seeks to kick-start the recovery of its economy, which contracted by 40% between 2000 and 2008 as political disputes repelled investment and pushed the inflation rate to the highest in the world.

Deputy Mines Minister Fred Moyo said on January 9 that setting up a refinery, which would cost as much as $2-billion, before next year was probably unachievable.

In the letter, government asked the bidding companies to detail their electricity, water and infrastructure requirements. The companies say Zimbabwe does not have the 100 MW of power the refinery would need.

The other companies the letter mentions are Aquarius Platinum; RusChrome, a Russian-owned venture; Global Platinum Resources, part-owned by China’s Norinco; Todal, which is part-owned by Eurasian Natural Resources; and a unit of Mwana Africa. Companies known as Karo Resources and Partnership Platinum Consortium are also included in the letter.