The Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development says it will no longer accept samples submitted by exporters to the Chemistry Laboratory at the Geological Survey Department in Lusaka to facilitate issuance of export permits effective 1st July, 2020.
In a statement obtained by Money FM News, Ministry Permanent Secretary Barnaby Mulenga disclosed that currently, every client wishing to apply for a mineral export permit submits a sample of the export consignment to the chemistry laboratory of the Ministry and that based on the sample analysis results, a Mineral Valuation Certificate of the entire mineral export consignment is prepared.
Mr. Mulenga said after the applicant has obtained a mineral royalty clearance certificate from the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), the Ministry issues a mineral export permit to the applicant but that this practice has opened a window of opportunity for some mineral exporters to deliberately submit low-grade samples to the chemistry laboratory, resulting in undervaluing of mineral exports and loss of revenue earned by the government through mineral royalty tax payment.
Mr. Mulenga said it is for this reason that the Ministry has decided to put an end to the current arrangement so that Officers from the Ministry will be going to the mine sites and traders’ warehouses to collect the required samples instead of relying on samples submitted by exporters in order to verify the location of the mineral samples and their Mine origin.
“This decision was arrived at in order to earn government a lot of revenue which is currently being lost through some exporters’ submission of low grade samples to the Ministry’s chemistry laboratory, eliminate the inconvenience of requiring our clients to travel to Lusaka to submit samples each time they apply for a mineral export permit; and achieve orderliness in the processing of mineral export permit applications as opposed to the randomness currently prevailing,” Mr. Mulenga said.
Mr. Mulenga said it is government’s desire that the ministry gains full oversight of the mineral supply and value chain in order to ensure effective monitoring of mineral production and exports.
He advised all exporters to ensure that their applications for export permits are received by the Ministry one week before the officers’ sampling visit to each region.
Mr. Mulenga said the applications should state clearly where the export consignments to be sampled will be located, with the applicants’ physical address and other contact details.