Central African Mining & Exploration Company (CAMEC) has announced that it will begin mining platinum in ZImbabwe next year. As reported in today’s Financial Times, the company has been criticized for doing business with the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe but defends its position:
There have been reports linking these assets to members of the ruling Zanu PF party in the country, but Camec has denied any of the proceeds of the sale were paid to Zanu PF.
Camec on Thursday defended its strategy of entering politically risky parts of the world, saying it believed its approach of “making early stage investments in countries in transition is the best way to generate shareholder value”.
CAMEC has extensive operations in ZImbabwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, South Africa and Mozambique. Recent news reports indicate that the company has successfully renegotiated its mining contracts with the government of the DRC after government officials announced earlier this year that it would review all of its contracts entered into by the previous government.
While the company states that it is a responsible corporate citizen in the countries in which it operates, it does not adhere to any of the industry principles of conduct nor does it publish a code of conduct. While it claims that its recent contract in Zimbabwe has no links to the ruling party, we find it difficult to grasp how such a contract can be negotiated without such complicity by the ZANU-PF.
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