Zimbabwean Mines Minister Winston Chitando confirmed the removal of a clause requiring mining companies to list on the local exchange as part of the country's proposed mining bill, Reuters reported May 18.

Early in April, a version of the bill included the requirement for mining companies in the country list a majority of their shares on the local exchange or "no mining right or title [would] be granted or issued" to them. Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo later said this requirement will be dropped.

"For the record, Zimbabwe will not compel companies to list on the stock exchange. This does not fit into the new economic dispensation," Chitando said. Temba Mliswa, chair of the parliamentary committee in charge of mining and energy, noted that the bill is expected to be adopted by parliament by the end of May.

Meanwhile, Chitando said Zimbabwe's new ownership policies for platinum and diamond mining will be released by the end of June, Bloomberg News reported May 17. The country's Chamber of Mines has called on the government to relax the ownership rules in line with other minerals as the 51% local ownership requirement was scrapped for most mines in December 2017 but was kept in place for diamond and platinum mines.

Mining companies operating in Zimbabwe include Anglo American Platinum Ltd. and Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd.