HARARE, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe has suspended a 15percent tax on raw platinum exports after mining companies askedthe government to give them two years to set up smelters andrefineries, the Minister of Mines told the state-owned Heraldnewspaper on Monday.
President Robert Mugabe's government introduced the levy onunrefined platinum in January to encourage local processing ofthe metal. Miners, however, said this would slash their marginsat a time global prices were falling.
Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), Impala PlatinumHoldings and Aquarius Holdings own mines inZimbabwe, which holds the second-largest reserves of the metal.
Mines Minister Walter Chidhakwa told the Herald, whichreflects government thinking, that he had presented the miningcompanies' request to defer the tax in a report to Mugabe'scabinet and the cabinet had accepted it.
"On the strength of that, Cabinet allowed that they(companies) be given two years to implement their plans. We areconfident that we will ensure that they do so not only in twoyears, but even within a shorter period," Chidhakwa said.
Chidhakwa could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Amplats unit Unki Mines said in March it would take twoyears to build a new smelter to comply with the government'sdemands for firms to process platinum locally.
Implats, which owns the largest platinum miner in Zimbabwe,Zimplats, is refurbishing a base metals refinery, which isexpected to be completed in the middle of next year.
Zimbabwe's finance minister said last month that platinumproduction fell 6.4 percent to 5.9 tonnes during the first halfof this year, hit by low prices of the metal. (Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Susan Fenton)