Killing of mine chief shocks Zim business

[dArKeR]

By Basildon Peta

The murder of one of Zimbabwe's top mining executives has shocked the business community in the embattled country.

Police confirmed that Leonard Chimimba, the chief executive officer of Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC), until recently owned by Anglo American, had been shot as he approached his home late on Monday night.

Chimimba died of head wounds in a Harare hospital on Tuesday.

Zimbabwe police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena said: "Our investigations are in progress but we suspect it was a robbery, because his car was taken by his killers soon after the shooting."

But one top business executive suggested Chimimba's murder might have been connected to the recent mysterious disappearance in South Africa of 40 tons of Bindura's nickel worth $600 000 (about R4-million).

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