Zimplats has paid $50 million into the acquisition of goods from Zimbabwe’s small and medium companies in the quarter to June this year, it said on Monday.

Zimbabwe’s biggest platinum miner said this amount was 16 percent more than the money it spent in the first quarter of this year.

The firm’s local capital injection surged from $42 million to a little more than $49 million during the period under review.

It said this is in keeping with Zimplats duty to the advancement of local companies.

It is understood that the state of Zimbabwe is planning to introduce a policy that will not allow procurement of raw materials by external companies. The state is inclined to prefer Zimbabwean companies only.

During the period under review, Zimplats, which is a wholly-owned company of Impala Platinum, has disclosed that it has disbursed $30 million in taxes to Robert Mugabe’s dispensation.

It said this was 6 percent lesser than the quarter ended March because of a sharp decline in corporate tax disbursement due to weaker prices.

During the quarter under review, platinum prices sagged 10 percent than in the previous quarter.

Palladium and rhodium prices plunged 4 and 2 percent, individually.