Zimbabwe is considering three foreign bids to mine uranium, a government newspaper reported, saying work could begin before the end of the year. Deputy mining minister Tinos Rusere did not identify the bidders to the Zimbabwe Sunday Mail to exploit uranium in the remote Kanyemba district. Among the countries believed involved were Namibia, China, Russia, South Africa the paper said. President Robert Mugabe announced in November to turn to nuclear energy to ease chronic electricity shortages in Zimbabwe, which has close ties to 2 countries with controversial nuclear programs - Iran and North Korea. A plan in the 1990s to acquire a reactor from Argentina never materialised. Rusere did not specify whether uranium-processing proposals were included in the bids currently under consideration, but said an eventual deal would inject much-needed hard currency into the crumbling economy, according to the report.