Mining ZimbabweLatest Mining News, Policy and Industry Updates

Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc (“Caledonia” or the “Company”) expects to publish its Q1 results for 2024 on Monday May 13, 2024.

A remote presentation for analysts and investors will be held on the same day, at 2:00pm London time, followed by an opportunity to ask questions.

A presentation of the results for the Quarter and outlook for Caledonia will be available on Caledonia’s website (www.caledoniamining.com).

Premier African Minerals Limited has reported that their lithium project is up and running, producing saleable concentrate. The company is still making improvements to increase both the quality and quantity of output.

Patricia Rwafa

In a previous update in April, Premier announced they were focusing on their Zulu lithium processing unit (flotation circuit). This unit is now operational and producing commercial-grade lithium concentrate (spodumene concentrate). Premier is still fine-tuning the unit to improve the amount and quality of lithium concentrate it produces. They expect ongoing improvements in both areas.

According to George Roach, CEO, “Thanks to the support the Company receives from ENPROTEC, the supplier of the flotation plant components, and innovation and dedication from our team at Zulu, we are now able to run the flotation circuit continuously and produce saleable spodumene concentrate.

There is much to be encouraged by, notably, the use of an activator in the spodumene flotation plant that has seen recoveries in internal laboratory work approaching 90% and indications that the ore body in situ grade is higher than was estimated in our Resource model. The overall plant is currently running at a feed rate to spodumene flotation that is approximately 50% of the original flotation design capacity and will need a further conditioning tank and minor pump upgrades to operate at the full design capacity. This is over and above the recently completed flow changes. The required pumps are already at the site, and the additional civils for the conditioning tank should be completed in May 2024.

Target production for the coming week is expected to start at 50 tonnes of spodumene concentrate per day with increasing production. The target’s full projected capacity remains at 4,000 tonnes per month. Grade is consistently improving with continuous running, and the latest internal chemical analysis of spodumene concentrate produced by the flotation circuit indicates grades have now improved to between 4.5% and 6.3% Li2O,” he said.

The Zulu Plant

For the reasons previously reported, Premier replaced the original plant contractor in March 2024. While the flotation circuit is now running in a constant and stable state, it will take time to fully remedy the original design deficiencies in the overall plant and move from what in many instances are interim fixes to the final operating plant. Some of these issues are set out below:

Ore Sorters

Neither the XRT nor the Ultraviolet sorters are adequately performing the functions for which they were sold and delivered to the Company. It is only the diligent and very careful efforts of a team from the Zulu Geology Department that both carefully oversee mining and ROM pad inspections to avoid waste reporting to the plant and thus allow the plant to operate contaminant-free. This interim solution is working well and is adequate for now but does not represent a long-term solution. The equipment supplier has been called upon to deal with this. Premier will seek to enforce its rights and is investigating alternatives.

Milling and Sizing

The original mill and screen system were inadequate and unable to provide more adequately milled and screened material. This setback Zulu by a year. The new ball mill and sizing equipment have resulted in an interim stable operation but only after a complete redesign of the mill discharge and hydro sizer circuit to operate at a consistent optimized feed rate. Additional upgrades will be installed in this circuit shortly to bring this to industry standard.

Magnetic Separation and Tantalum Recovery

The plant was supplied with a magnetic separator and a circuit intended to remove both a paramagnetic and a magnetic fraction for bagging. The magnetic separator supplied is low intensity (LIMS) and cannot remove a paramagnetic fraction that would include tantalum. The magnetic separator circuit is further unable to efficiently remove iron generated from the milling process to an acceptable degree and will need to be upgraded shortly.

Flotation Circuit

The components of the flotation circuit were originally specified by the original plant contractor on the basis that they would be integrated, installed, and commissioned by them. That ENPROTEC has committed to rectifying design constraints and commissioning this part of the plant is a major factor in the successful operational status now achieved.

Ore Body and Plant Grades

With the development of the open pit, the Company has now been able to validate the actual pegmatite that is being mined. In-pit evaluation is undertaken through the sampling of the pegmatite from blast hole drilling and channel samples cut across the bench. This allows for better reconciliation to the 5m x 5m x 5m Assay Block Model grades. On the bench level currently being developed and mined, the Indicated Resource grade from the assay block model was 1.01% Li2O while the average grade of the ore hauled to the ROM pad is currently 1.13% Li2O, an approximate 10% increase.

At the same time, with material blended from selective mining in the EPO area, Li2O grades recorded in the ore feed to the flotation circuit are in the range of 1.1% Li2O to 1.8% Li2O, and the dry solids being fed to the spodumene float plant contain between 12% and 25% spodumene.

Spodumene Concentrate

The term SC6 is used as a price determination point, being the price paid for spodumene concentrate in which the Li2O grade is 6%. Approximately 74% of the concentrate would then be made up of spodumene. The spodumene concentrate in any grade more than 4% Li2O is saleable with an adjustment to the price paid relative to the actual amount of spodumene contained in that bag. It should be noted that prices are quoted for spodumene concentrates at lower grades and these prices are in the public domain.

It is worth noting that the market for lepidolite is improving, and Premier believes that it is likely that our Mica/lepidolite will sell shortly.

Financial Model

The Company will engage an independent consultancy to assess overall cost implications related to the present mining operation. Previously, the Company has indicated a mine gate production cost of $800 per ton. This may benefit from reduced mining costs linked to ore sourced from within the EPO.

Through the beneficiation and value addition of gemstones, the Women in Gemstones Association in Zimbabwe (WIGAZ) is aiming to establish a US$1 billion gemstone industry within five years.

by Rudairo Mapuranga

WIGAZ, currently collaborating with ActionAid, the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA), and the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ), is optimistic that continuous investment in Women in Gemstones by these organizations will lead to the industry’s growth into a billion-dollar sector within five years.

Speaking to Mining Zimbabwe, WIGAZ Treasurer Ms Stelia Phiri said the organization is also collaborating with Defold Mining Company to formalize gemstone mining by women to ensure maximum benefits.

“We are working with ActionAid and ZELA. We have introduced value addition and beneficiation.

“We are also collaborating with Defold to ensure that illegal gemstone miners are regularized. The first step is to formalize our mines. We are also working with MMCZ to ensure that knowledge about gemstones is spread in Zimbabwe. Gemstones have not been contributing much to the national GDP, but we are working to ensure the industry becomes a billion-dollar sector,” she said.

Ms. Phiri mentioned that through her company, Sastelia Enterprises, she is involved in the value addition of gemstones by creating art paintings adorned with gemstones to provide a natural stone feel.

She also noted that her company is training youth in cutting, polishing, and value addition.

“We are also training youth to ensure they are empowered in cutting, polishing, and value addition.

“Every stone has value. After cutting our stones, we don’t dispose of the feelings. We use them for art,” Ms. Phiri said.

Contango Holdings, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange, has raised £940,000 to develop their Muchesu coal project in Zimbabwe.

Contango owns 70% of the project and has begun coking and thermal coal production. The company is securing offtake agreements (deals to buy the coal) and discussing potential partnerships for the mine.

In a press release on May 2, 2024, Contage clarified the ownership structure of the Muchesu project. The company holds the majority stake (70%) with local partners owning the remaining 30%.

The Muchesu Coal Mine covers 19,236 hectares of the highly prospective Karoo Mid Zambezi coal basin, located in the established Hwange mining district in northwestern Zimbabwe.

Contango has commenced small-scale production of coking and industrial coal, generating interest from potential buyers. They have already produced 120 tonnes and have two interested parties collecting samples this week. Discussions are ongoing with multiple potential customers, with total demand potentially reaching over 50,000 tonnes of coal per month. This initial production and strong interest are positive signs for the project’s future.

Negotiations with potential buyers suggest a combined demand exceeding 50,000 tonnes of coal every month. Contango acknowledges that not all discussions will be successful, but they are confident of securing several contracts in the coming months (by June 2024) with these interested parties.

Contango has recently extracted another 250 tonnes of thermal coal. This batch is going to a potential buyer who will perform a “burn test” to assess its quality. If the test goes well, Contage is optimistic about securing a large, long-term contract to sell this type of coal to the same buyer.

Alongside the progress on mining operations, the company is still in talks with several groups interested in either partnering with them (joint venture) or buying the entire mine.

The Minister of Finance and Investment Promotion, Prof. Mthuli Ncube, announced on Tuesday that the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) is now the official unit of exchange for transactions.

According to Prof. Ncube, plans are underway to implement regulations to ensure businesses adhere to the official exchange rate.

Since its launch in early April, the ZiG has maintained stability on the official market. However, it has encountered challenges on the parallel market, where traders charge a premium of 65% above the official rate to acquire dollars.

Some supermarkets have also been observed charging a premium above the market rate of ZiG 13.6 per U.S. dollar for customers using the new currency, while informal traders have shown reluctance to accept ZiG.

In a statement, Finance Minister Prof. Mthuli Ncube emphasized the government’s commitment to enforcing orderly pricing.

He announced plans to introduce regulations to ensure that only the official exchange rate is used for pricing goods and services.

“To ensure orderly pricing, the government will soon introduce the necessary regulations to ensure that no exchange rate other than the official rate will be used for the pricing of all goods and services,” Prof. Ncube said.

Efforts to support the ZiG’s stability have been ongoing since its launch, including crackdowns on illegal foreign currency traders initiated by authorities last month.

The introduction of the ZiG marks Zimbabwe’s fourth attempt at establishing a local currency within a decade. The move comes after the country abandoned the Zim dollar last month due to a 70% depreciation since the beginning of the year.

Prospect Resources Limited (PSC: ASX, 5E8:FRA) has announced the completion of a deal with Orpheus Uranium Limited (ASX: ORP) following the satisfaction of agreed-upon conditions. This agreement grants Prospect access to valuable data to advance their Mumbezhi Copper Project in Zambia.

The public announcement of the agreement between Prospect Resources and Orpheus Uranium was made on April 9, 2024. Prospect paid Orpheus A$1.0 million in fully paid PSC shares as partial reimbursement of prior exploration expenditure, along with three options to acquire ordinary PSC shares for every four shares issued, at 15 cents per share, expiring three years after issue.

Upon the definition of a JORC-reportable Mineral resource exceeding 500,000 tonnes of contained copper metal, Prospect will also make a milestone payment of A$2.5 million to Orpheus.

On May 3, 2024, the Company issued 8.3 million ordinary shares in Prospect at an issue price of $0.12 per share (the issue price is equal to the 5-day VWAP on the date the condition precedent was satisfied). The Company also issued 6,250,000 unlisted options to acquire ordinary shares in Prospect at $0.15 per share, expiring on April 11, 2027.

According to Prospect’s Managing Director and CEO, Sam Hosack,

“The satisfaction of the Conditions Precedent with Orpheus Uranium results in the Prospect team owning all existing mining and geological data from Orpheus/Argonaut, a significant first step in Prospect’s understanding of the opportunity presented by the Mumbezhi Copper Project in Zambia.”

“We are now processing, cataloguing, analyzing, and benefiting from a far larger volume of digital data and physical drill core materials sourced over a decade of exploration by Orpheus/Argonaut, and we thank the Company for the seamless way in which the data transfer occurred.”

“The physical materials have been very well preserved and ordered in such a manner that will facilitate Prospect’s timely review of all the purchased data to deliver a maiden copper mineral resource estimate for Mumbezhi during Q3 2024.”

“Now the corporate team is fully focused on completing the transaction with GDC to close out the separate Conditions Precedent for our 85% interest in the Project license by the end of May.”