Zimbabwe mining event attracts investors

HARARE, Zimbabwe, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Two hundred foreign investors gathered in Zimbabwe Wednesday to discuss opportunities in the country's mining sector, observers said.

President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai will address the Harare conference, titled "Reviving Zimbabwe's Mining Sector, Clear Way Forward," The Daily Nation in Nairobi, Kenya, reported.

At one time, the mining industry accounted for about half of Zimbabwe's foreign currency earnings, but has languished since the economy took a plunge in 1997 under Mugabe's policies, the newspaper said.

But interest in it has reportedly been revived under a unity government formed seven months by Mugabe and Tsvangirai.

"There has never been a better time than now for investors to gain access to good mineral resources in the country," Zimbabwe Mines and Mining Development Minister Obert Mpofu told The Daily Nation. "The two days will provide a great opportunity for all of us who are interested in mining to share ideas on the latest developments in the sector."