Registration fees for platinum mines in Zimbabwe will rise from $300 to $2.5 million, state-run media has reported.

Prince Mupazviriho, the permanent secretary in the mines ministry, told the state-owned Herald newspaper that the government plans to announce the changes soon, though no firm plans have yet been made.

Application fees for a prospectors licence for platinum would also rise steeply under the plans, from $150 to $500,000.

The measures are being billed as a way to discourage speculative holding of claims.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti recently raised the royalties on platinum to ten per cent from the previous five per cent levy, while platinum miners in Zimbabwe are currently in the process of negotiating indigenisation plans to meet Harare's demands for local black investors to own 51 per cent of foreign mining firms.

The government also plans to hike application fees for coal, coal-bed methane gas, mineral oils, natural gas and nuclear energy mineral resources from $5,000 to $100,000.

Sources:

Zimbabwe mine licence fees set to soar - state media (25/01/12)

Zimbabwe miners face soaring fees – report (25/01/12)

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