Output at Zimbabwe's platinum mines has continued to be hit by the country's economic turmoil, according to new figures.

The Chamber of Mines (CoM) said that platinum production was down more than half this year to 200.21kg from 464.67kg.

The downturn can be attributed, the CoM claims, to "bad policy" from President Mugabe's government which has discouraged investment.

This, in turn, the CoM reasons has meant that the country has missed out on the metal price boom that has prompted strong growth in the South African platinum mining sector.

John Robertson, an independent economist, told Reuters: "Most companies have scaled down production and (are) operating at half their potential.

"Mineral exports generated $600 million [during the first eight months of 2007] but this could well have been over $1 billion if mines were operating at maximum capacity given the prevailing high metal prices," he added.

Miners with operations in Zimbabwe, such as Impala Platinum, have also been forced to contend with sporadic power supplies, prompting the firm to fund its own power sub-station.

Source:

Zimbabwe miners miss metals price boom - Reuters

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