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Zimbabwe Finds Uranium, To Make Electricity - Mugabe

21st November 2005

HARARE - Zimbabwe has discovered uranium but intends to mine the commodity only to generate electricity, not for use in making nuclear weapons, President Robert Mugabe said in remarks broadcast on Sunday.

"We have found uranium, which is used to make electricity (and) the bombs that you hear about ... but when we mine it we would not want it to be used in bomb making ... We would use it to give us electricity," Mugabe said on state television.

The television said Mugabe spoke at a function at a plant owned by state power utility Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority. It did not give details.

Zimbabwe imports 35 percent of its electricity from South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia and DRC to augment domestic supplies but ZESA has battled to pay for imports in recent years as a result of biting foreign currency shortages.

The crunch has resulted in frequent power cuts that have disrupted industrial production as the southern African country battles its worst economic crisis in decades.

REUTERS NEWS SERVICE