According to the BBC News, London-based mining giant Anglo American has defended plans to develop a platinum mine in Zimbabwe. The UK government has urged firms not to actively support the current regime. “Where businesses are helping the Zimbabwean regime, they should reconsider their position now,” Prime Minister Gordon Brown told MPs on Wednesday. “Anglo American is deeply concerned about the current political situation in Zimbabwe and condemns the violence and human rights abuses that are taking place,” the company said. The company added that it was in “full compliance with all relevant national and international laws relating to its activities in Zimbabwe”.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4′s PM programme, Anglo American chairman Sir Mark Moody Stewart rejected suggestions that the company was acting unethically. “Investments cannot be turned on and off,” he said, adding that the project was not benefiting Mr Mugabe’s regime and would be needed in a post-Mugabe era. Analysts said that Anglo American’s move was driven by a desire to boost profits, as demand for commodities grew and rivals stepped up competition for resources in Africa – including firms from China.
Earlier this year, a BBC File on 4 program discovered that nearly 20,000 South Africans had been displaced by Anglo American. Anglo American said the displacement had occurred as it was treating safety as a priority and that it was aiming to make communities better off. The rising price of platinum has seen a new wave of open-cast mines in South Africa, the world’s largest producer.
It’s interesting to note that while companies such as Angle American push forward and do business with the likes of Robert Mugabe, their investors are seemingly unaware of the hyper-risks associated with such speculative investments. While the risks of such country-based investments are huge, the risks are commensurate.