HARARE, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's leading platinum miner, Zimplats Private Ltd, has launched a voluntary staff retrenchment program to cut costs in light of weak platinum group metals (PGM) prices.
The program, detailed in a staff bulletin dated March 18, offers employees retrenchment packages based on their years of service. Zimplats' Chief Executive Officer, Alexander Mhembere, said that while cost containment efforts had shown some success, the company still faced significant challenges, prompting the need for additional measures.
Zimplats is a subsidiary of South African mining giant Impala Platinum and operates in Ngezi, Mashonaland West Province.
This decision follows a similar move by Mimosa, another platinum miner in the Midlands Province, which laid off 33 managers and supervisors in early March to manage costs given declining PGM prices.
Zimplats produces platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, and ruthenium, as well as nickel, gold, copper, cobalt, and silver deposits. ■
