Zimbabwe Platinum Mines Ltd (Zimplats) faces the delicate task of persuading London-based financiers to back its Ngezi platinum project in Zimbabwe as the country teeters on the brink of economic and political ruin.

The meetings with financiers next week coincide with a Commonwealth committee meeting in London that is aimed at finding a solution to Zimbabwe's land crisis, which has prompted veterans of the country's independence struggle to occupy nearly 1,000 white-owned farms.