Zimbabwe's Platinum miners in crisis over unpaid e...

Zimbabwe's Platinum miners in crisis over unpaid export earnings

**Deputy Finance Minister Kuda Mnangagwa**

Zim Now Writer

Zimbabwe's platinum mining companies are facing a serious problem: the government owes them millions of dollars for their exports. This is hurting a key industry that is already struggling with low prices for its metals.

Under government rules, exporters must keep only 70% of their earnings in foreign currency. The remaining 30% is supposed to be converted into local currency, but the government hasn't been paying the miners since January.

Zimbabwe, the world's third-largest producer of platinum group metals (PGMs) after South Africa and Russia, says it needs this foreign currency to pay for essential imports and international loans.

In the first half of this year, platinum producers like Valterra Platinum, Impala Platinum’s Zimplats, and Mimosa exported PGMs worth $690 million. However, a mining chamber official told Reuters that the government has not given them the local currency for their share of these earnings.

Deputy Finance Minister Kuda Mnangagwa admitted that the government is behind on its payments. He explained, “There were issues of cash flow constraints, particularly in the first quarter of the year when our revenue collections are at their lowest.” Mnangagwa added that the government is talking with the miners to prevent these delays from harming their businesses.

PGMs, which are used in car parts to reduce pollution, are Zimbabwe's second most valuable mineral export, right behind gold. Gold exports were worth $1.8 billion in the first half of 2025, a big increase from the previous year.

Gold producers have also complained about the government’s foreign currency rule. They say that when their export money is changed into an overpriced local currency, it reduces their total income.

Business analyst Tinashe Murapata noted, "It seems government’s thrust of balancing the books and keeping ZiG steady is simply not paying its obligations.”