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Business Reporter
THE Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development is set to embark on two-a-week public consultations to gather views on the Mines and Minerals Bill.

The hearings begin on 27 February to 10 March.
According to the schedule, the meeting will begin in Harare on 27 February, in Bulawayo (7 March), Esigodini,  (8 March),  Hwange (9 March), and wind up in  Kamativi on 10 March.

Last week, the Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development and several key stakeholders held a capacity-building workshop unpacking the bill, which went through its first reading in the National Assembly last week.
The bill, among other issues, covers transparency in the licensing regime of mining titles, recognition of provincial mining directors, and devolution of mining sector administration royalty, equality, and equity of mining fees across provinces and local authorities.

Under Schedule 2 of the Mines Bill, nine minerals have been explicitly identified as strategic and these include diamonds, rare earth minerals, lithium, and copper, nuclear energy source materials such as uranium; mineral oils, gaseous hydrocarbons, coal and nickel.