15 march 2021 20 december 2007 Rio Rinto, the world's third-largest mining company, warned that Zimbabwe's proposed indigenization laws and an unviable fixed exchange rate regime could force it to shut down a gold mine and put on ice a planned $60 million diamond project. The government has notified mining companies that it will indigenize the country's mines by forcing them by law to cede portions of their shareholding to government and locals. The Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines confirmed that there were also plans to clamp down on illegal gold mining and companies selling precious stones at the parallel market exchange rate, Rapaport reports. Gold companies operating in Zimbabwe have been hamstrung by the country's fixed exchange rate of 30,000 Zimbabwe dollars to the dollar while the greenback fetches up to 2 million Zimbabwe dollars on a thriving parallel market.