Zimbabwean miner RioZim is seeking $92 million from the central bank in a lawsuit that accuses the Reserve Bank of failing to pay enough of its gold proceeds in US dollars.
Court papers show the company says the bank, through its subsidiary Fidelity Printers and Refiners, has bought all gold from producers but has not met its own policy of paying 30 percent in dollars. RioZim says that since 2016 it has received dollar payments on only 15 percent of the gold sold to the central bank.
In the summons filed with the High Court on Nov. 14, RioZim says it was shortchanged by $48 million in dollar payments and lost another $44 million through reduced production. The company says the missing foreign currency also prevented it from importing equipment and materials needed for capital projects.
The miner shut its three mines last month because of the dollar crunch, saying operations would remain suspended until a solution is found.
“The plaintiff suffered a direct loss of money and the devaluation of the purchasing power of its earnings...,” RioZim said in the court documents seen by Reuters.
The central bank has not commented on the case. RioZim CEO Bekhinkosi Nkosi did not answer calls to his mobile phone, while company attorneys Devittie Rudolph and Timba declined to comment.
RioZim first said on Oct. 9 that it would take legal action, a sign of growing frustration among miners over Zimbabwe’s shortage of dollars. The country adopted the US dollar in 2009 to curb hyperinflation, but it is now facing severe foreign currency shortages that have pushed up prices and driven inflation into double digits.
On Monday, Governor John Mangudya and the deputy minister for mines announced a policy change allowing gold, platinum and chrome mining companies to keep up to 55 percent of their earnings in dollars, up from 30 percent. The government said the move was intended to keep operators viable.
Mangudya could not be reached for comment on the lawsuit.
