The mining company run by Phil Edmonds, the former England spin bowler, may at last have found its line and length in Zimbabwe.

Central African Mining & Exploration (Camec) has released an independent estimate for two platinum prospects in Zimbabwe that it bought 15 months ago, stating that there is enough metal there to support a mine for 20 years.

Camec’s £120 million purchase of the prospects from a secretive company called Lefever sparked accusations from the then opposition party led by Morgan Tsvangirai that it was funding Robert Mugabe’s regime. Now that Mr Tsvangirai is Prime Minister in a power-sharing deal with the dictator, he may change his view. He scrapped a punitive tax on foreign companies last week. Brock Salier, an analyst with Ambrian, who visited the site last month said: “Tenure is always a sensitive issue in Zimbabwe.” However, he added that he was confident that Mr Tsvangirai was unlikely to jeopardise foreign investment by nationalising mining assets. Mr Salier gives “buy” advice and has an 18p target price.

Camec aims to start building the mine this autumn, with production by 2012. Its shares rose 0.79p to 10.75p, but are far off the 60p they reached last year before the collapse of metal prices.

Highway Capital, a cash shell looking for acquisitions, jumped 1p to 7¾p as Andrew Perloff, the activist investor who has acquired 26 per cent, was appointed to the board.

Jarvis, the rail engineer, rose 0.87p to 6.57p after a loan extension from its bank. Centaur Media fell 4½p to 33¾p as it warned that dire trading was continuing. Oxonica fell 1p to 3½p after the Court of Appeal upheld a ruling that it is liable to pay royalties to Neuftec for sales of its Envirox diesel fuel additive.

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