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Mine Entra roars to life

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Mine Entra roars to life

Zimbabwe’s biggest mining expo Mine Entra kicked off yesterday at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo.

After two years of hiatus, the iconic event roared to life with the country’s equipment suppliers and different service providers taking up every square inch of available exhibition space.

According to ZITF company chairperson, Busisa Moyo,  5,474 square metres of exhibition space has been booked this year. Some of the exhibitors are from China, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

This year‘s expo is running under the theme – Vision 2023: Opportunities for Expansion, Exploration and Investment.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa is set to officially open the mining expo today.

Analysts and mining experts place a lot of emphasis on active participation in Mine Entra as the event brings a new refreshed look at products and services in the market. It is a platform for new innovations and developments within the Mining industry. By visiting the exhibition one gets a good idea about what is trending in the Mining business.

Mining Zimbabwe is exhibiting at Mine Entra and distributing the July 2022 issue at the event. This issue provides the reader with leading equipment and service providers servicing the Mining Industry. The issue also has a critical interview with the man looking out for public interests in the Mining Industry of Zimbabwe, Hon Edmond Mkaratigwa. We grilled Mkaratigwa, who is the Chairman of the Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development on the pressing issues in the Zimbabwe Mining Industry.

Mining Zimbabwe also guarantees every attendant a free Magazine at its stand in Hall four by the second entrance.

In the issue, we also interviewed the President of the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe President Mr Colin Chibafa a man who has served the Mining Industry for the past 20 years.

Other industry heavyweights who graced the occasion include Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development Hon Polite Kambamura, Fidelity Gold Refiners (FGR) General Manager Mr Peter Magaramombe, FGR’s Mr Matthew Chidavaenzi, ZMF Secretary general Morgan Mugawu among others.

About Mine Entra

For over two decades, the Mine-Entra exhibition has grown and evolved into a one-stop shop for market intelligence, image building, networking and business development for the represented industries.

International exhibitors in the exhibition have come from The People’s Republic of China, Germany and South Africa in past Mine-Entra editions, with the majority of local participation hailing from Harare and Bulawayo.

The product mix is varied, including heavy engineering, equipment, conveyors, pumps and rubber products, construction, transport, insurance services and protective wear. External sites showcase earth-moving equipment, automotive displays and heavy engineering.

Police arrest nearly 30k people under “No to machete gangs” operation

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Police arrest nearly 30k people under “No to machete gangs” operation

The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) since January this year have arrested 29 887 people under operation no to machete gangs. The operation is meant to restore sanity in the Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector.

Anerudo Mapuranga

“Police arrested 128 people under the operation, “No to machete gangs.” The cumulative arrests since January this year stand at 29 887,” the ZRP said in a statement.

 Illegal Miners are mostly an easy target of criminals usually referred to as machete gangs who have been causing havoc in the ASM sector.

According to Police spokesperson Asst-Comm Paul Nyathi, the operation is ongoing and they have covered all the provinces and those that resist risk being arrested and face deterrent sentences as the police are in constant contact with the judiciary.

Machete-wielding criminals are notorious for pouncing on small-scale and artisanal miners stealing the latter’s gold or gold ore. The stolen gold is usually smuggled to neighbouring countries like South Africa and Botswana through the country’s porous borders.

The Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) has once again called on miners to formalize their operations by adhering to the dictates of the law to avoid a situation where work is constantly being disrupted by law enforcement agents.

According to ZMF President Ms Henrietta Rushwaya, the Federation has a zero-tolerance mantra of no to illegal mining.  She said that the organisation’s offices are open for everyone to come and get mining investment advice.

“As small-scale miners, we are saying it is a crime to mine illegally in the country. And we are saying zero tolerance to illegal mining. We should be seen as being associated with constructive and proper mining, constructive in the sense that our mining should be guided by principles as stated in the Mines and Minerals Act.  People are advised and allowed to come to our ZMF offices to find out how best they can be linked with proper mining houses and how best they get tributes from other registered miners,” Rushwaya said.

Gwanda community receives over US$300 000 from Blanket

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Gwanda community receives over US$300 000 from Blanket

Gwanda Community Share Ownership Trust (GCSOT) has received a dividend of over US$300 000 from Blanket Mine, credit to the indigenisation and empowerment act which ensured that all communities benefit from business activities happening in their areas.

Rudairo Mapuranga

According to Caledonia Mining Corporation CEO Mark Learmonth, a dividend payment of US$360,000 has been paid to GCSOT from Blanket mine.

Background

In 2012, Caledonia facilitated the ownership of 51 per cent of Blanket by Indigenous Zimbabweans in accordance with the prevailing legislation at that time. This included a 10 per cent ownership by the local community via GCSOT. In 2020, following changes in legislation, Caledonia increased its shareholding in Blanket to 64 per cent, but GCSOT retained its 10 per cent ownership.

In 2012 and 2013 Blanket made advance dividend payments to GCSOT totalling $4 million so that GCSOT had funds to establish its operations. GCSOT repaid the advance dividends by sacrificing its entitlement to future dividends. Initially, GCSOT sacrificed 100 per cent of its dividend entitlement, which was subsequently reduced to 80 per cent. The outstanding balance of the advance dividend account at June 30, 2021 (being the most recent reporting date) was $0.2 million.

On September 29, 2021, Blanket paid a dividend following which the advance dividend account has been completely repaid.

Henceforth, GCSOT, one of the indigenous shareholders, will receive its full entitlement to 10 per cent of Blanket’s dividends.

Commenting on the announcement, Mark Learmonth, Caledonia’s Chief Executive Officer, said:

“In October 2021, Blanket Mine announced that the advance dividend loan had been repaid and going forward GCSOT would receive its full entitlement of 10 per cent of dividends paid by Blanket Mine.

“With investment in our local communities and employees being at the heart of our business, I am delighted that this dividend has now been paid.”

Zulu assay results impressive

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Zulu assay results impressive

London Stock Exchange listed mining and exploration junior Premier African Minerals has recorded impressive assay results at its Zulu Lithium and Tantalum Project in Fort Rixon, company CEO George Roach said.

Rudairo Mapuranga

Roach said tantalum and rubidium presence remains prevalent in the project with the result giving confidence to the miner to support its pilot project concept.

” The results set out below are again impressive. Notable is the continued pervasive Tantalum and Rubidium presence. The results reported on are from boreholes within the existing resource area and are part of the ongoing programme that is intended to upgrade confidence in the original resource estimate from an inferred level to an indicated level.

“At the same time, we have reviewed all the previous work done prior to January 2022 and adjusted the geological model as indicated. The work to date has provided the level of confidence we needed internally to support the pilot plant concept as recently announced. In fact, what we are now understanding about the Zulu deposit is entirely complementary to the use of sensor-based ore sorting and in time is likely to result in  a most efficient and effective process.

“It should be noted that these results are all confined within the original claims area. The deposit remains open on strike in both directions and at depth.” Roach said.

Table 1 – Assay Summary Results

HoleFrom (m)To (m)Width* (m)Li2O%**Ta2O5 ppmRb ppm
ZDD033

 

86.15

 

90.15

 

4.00

 

1.03

 

57

 

2702

 

Restated
Incl.86.15

 

88.15

 

2.00

 

1.30

 

43

 

1231

 

ZDD034

 

71.82

 

81.82

 

10.00

 

1.84

 

59

 

1518

 

Incl.71.82

 

73.82

 

2.00

 

1.92

 

90

 

1890

 

Incl.76.82

 

81.82

 

5.00

 

2.35

 

54

 

1172

 

ZDD034

 

84.82

 

97.88

 

13.06

 

1.73

 

83

 

2455

 

Incl.85.82

 

89.82

 

4.00

 

2.29

 

119

 

1471

 

Incl.91.82

 

92.82

 

1.00

 

2.03

 

 

 

2917

 

ZDD034

 

142.28

 

149.28

 

7.00

 

1.05

 

270

 

271

 

Incl.143.28

 

144.28

 

1.00

 

1.71

 

112

 

1796

 

Incl.145.28

 

147.28

 

2.00

 

1.31

 

222

 

17

 

ZDD034

 

153.81

 

156.55

 

2.74

 

1.67

 

264

 

315

 

ZDD035R

 

45.45

 

57.3

 

11.85

 

1.38

 

95

 

994

 

Incl.45.45

 

54.45

 

9.00

 

1.60

 

85

 

996

 

New
ZDD036

 

22.38

 

44.3

 

21.92

 

1.11

 

204

 

3733

 

Incl.23.38

 

28.38

 

5.00

 

1.44

 

243

 

5572

 

Incl.32.38

 

36.38

 

4.00

 

1.88

 

125

 

2419

 

ZDD052

 

47.3249.322.001.39

 

37

 

1369

 

Incl.48.32

 

49.32

 

1.00

 

2.01

 

26

 

1116

 

ZDD05251.3256.325.001.04592003

 

Incl.51.32

 

53.32

 

2.00

 

1.53

 

55

 

1939

 

ZDD060

 

52.18

 

56.73

 

4.55

 

0.82

 

223

 

36

 

Incl.53.18

 

54.18

 

1.00

 

1.35

 

105

 

1388

 

*Not True Width but lineal width

Caledonia in quarterly record gold production

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Caledonia in quarterly record gold production

Victoria Falls Stock Exchange-listed gold-focused miner, Caledonia Mining Corporation has recorded a record 569.6 kgs of gold during the quarter ended June 30, 2022, a 20 per cent increase compared to the same quarter last year.

Rudairo Mapuranga

The company which is confident of achieving its target production guidance of between 73 000 ounces and 80 000oz this year on account of sustained strong production at its sole mine, Blanket mine recorded an approximately 29 per cent increase during the first half of the year.

Gold produced for the first half of 2022 was 38,606 ounces from the 29,907 ounces produced in the first half of 2021.

According to Caledonia Chief Operating Officer Dana Roets, the company’s gold production for 2022 is expected to be between 73,000 – 80,000 ounces with the first-year performance exceptional.

“Production in the first half of 2022 was excellent and exceeded our expectations.  Production excludes an estimate of approximately 1,500 ounces of recoverable gold included in an ore stockpile which will be processed after the commissioning of additional milling capacity in the next few weeks.     

“We have now achieved our quarterly target of 20,000 ounces and are on track to hit our annual production target of between 73,000 – 80,000 ounces of gold,” Roets said.

BNC records zero fatalities, COVID deaths

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BNC records zero fatalities, COVID deaths

Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) listed nickel mining giant, Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC) has reached a record 3.1 million fatality-free shifts, all thanks to the company’s resilience in achieving zero harm.

Rudairo Mapuranga

During the year ended 31 March 2022, in terms of safety, health and environment (SHE) the nickel mining giant recorded zero fatalities, two Lost Time Injuries recorded and a new record of 3.1 million fatality-free shifts achieved as at 31 March 2022.

“There was an improvement in the Company’s safety performance during the year, with two Lost Time Injuries recorded compared to five for the previous year.

“The Company achieved a new record of 3.1 million fatality-free shifts by 31 March 2022, the last fatality having been recorded in June 2015. Safety remains a priority for the Board and Management, given the inherently hazardous nature of mining operations.

“The Company has a zero-tolerance policy towards injuries in the workplace. Safety, Health and Environmental (SHE) systems are continually being upgraded and improved to enhance performance. The main area of focus continues to be on instituting and deepening the desired safety culture in order to prevent accidents, in line with the Company’s Zero Harm policy.

“The Company continues to comply with all applicable environmental legislation and remains ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 certified,” the company said.

The nickel mining group also recorded zero COVID-19-related deaths during the year with all employees fully vaccinated against COVID-19 during the year.

“In consonance with the overall national situation, the threat posed by COVID-19 has declined considerably, with the Company ending the year with the pandemic under control. All company employees were fully vaccinated during the year and no COVID-19-related deaths were recorded. The company has however continued with preventative measures and control programmes to ensure the pandemic remains under control,” The group said.

Stakeholder consultations to commence once mines bill is referred to Mines Committee

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Stakeholder consultations to commence once mines bill is referred to Mines Committee

Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development has assured the public that public consultation of the Mines and Minerals bill will be carried out once the bill is referred to the committee.

Rudairo Mapuranga

Speaking to Mining Zimbabwe yesterday the Committee Chairperson Hon Edmond Mkaratigwa said the bill will follow due process before being taken to the President for approval.

“The way forward is its conveyance to the Parliament of Zimbabwe so that it goes through the law-making process.

“That process includes the reference of the Bill to the Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development and engagement with the citizens on behalf of Parliament. So basically, the Bill will go back to the citizens and different sectoral stakeholders for their consideration and input in a participatory manner. After that, Parliament as a whole will also endorse or reject it but we know it should sail through because we will do our work with all alertness. After that, the Bill will be ready for the Presidential ascent and enrollment of the Act as part of the laws of Zimbabwe.

“We have done a lot already with regard to the Bill and we hope that people already know what they want to be part of that law. May I also advise that the Bill will still be shared with the citizens on time and all will be given room to participate in the process therefore no one will be left behind as we are prepared to go to the last mile,” Mkaratigwa said.

The Mkaratigwa-led Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development might after a series of failures from past committees be the one to claim the success and positive outcome of the Mines and Minerals Amendment bill.

The Bill was returned without approval by President Mnangagwa in 2018 after a lot of stakeholders expressed their concerns about the basic thrust of legal changes, and the consensus was that it needed to be redrafted to reflect the far more open and investor-friendly environment of the Second Republic.

The redrafting of the bill did not prove to be heading in the right direction up until 2020 when Mkaratigwa took over the chairmanship of the Mines and Mining Development Parliamentary Portfolio Committee.

Speaking to Mining Zimbabwe in June 2022 Mkaratigwa said his committee took different initiatives to make sure that they were involved in the drafting of the bill to avoid a situation where stakeholders’ concerns would not be taken into the drafting of the bill.

“From day one we sought to accelerate the drafting of the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill, but bearing in mind of course that the stage that we were at is what we refer to as the prebill stage and at that stage formally they is nothing that is expected from the parliament. The parliament process will kick in from the day that the Minister table the bill in Parliament and according to the constitution we are then supposed to conduct Public hearings thereafter as a Portfolio Committee we are supposed to deliberate on public views and come up with our recommendations that the Minister will then have to factor in.

“In line with that, we had oral evidence sessions in Parliament whereby we called the Ministry and the institutions under the perfume of the ministry and other stakeholders to try and understand where they were with the bill. This is at which stage, we realized that nothing was moving. We then decided to go the paradigmatic route by way of a workshop which incorporated various stakeholders including the Ministry and that allowed a process that will make us relevant and not Altovise with the law in terms of following resolutions that will come out of a workshop that would cause us as a Portfolio Committee to get involved in the grafting of the bill.

“To that end as a Committee, we constituted a committee that was headed by Hon Davison Svuure to work closely with the grafting team from the Ministry of Mines as well as the Deputy Attorney General’s Office. At some stage, it became apparent that we needed to take these officers out of their busy office schedules in Harare and we booked them in a hotel outside Harare, we managed to achieve this compliment of friends of the committee like ZELA who managed to meet some of the financial costs involved.

“This enabled the completion of the grafting and thereafter it began the prerogative of the Deputy Attorney General’s office to start decoding and crafting the graft bill into legal language so to speak. This process has taken a long time and we have been following up in between, we had other workshops just to buttress the same resolutions and come up with new resolutions because most of the resolutions were time-based and we realized in some instances that the time-lapse led to expiration and the effectiveness of the resolutions. And I must say that where we are today the bill stands complete and the Deputy Attorney General’s office has reverted to the Ministry of Mines to say now they can maybe finalize attendance to the bill and be able to take it before the Cabinet Committee on legislation which they had done before but they were issues raised by the Cabinet Committee and which led to referring back the bill the Ministry.” Mkaratigwa said.

When the President referred back to the bill, the Chamber of Mines and other parties were reportedly unhappy with some sections of the Bill, including the definition of strategic minerals, which was thought to be “too broad” that it covered nearly all minerals.

There were concerns too, over provisions that seek to transfer administrative aspects of the pegging of claims from the principal Act to subsidiary legislation. Many stakeholders want the 1961 Mines and Minerals Act to be amended, arguing that it was no longer in sync with what is obtaining in the country today.

 The 61-year-old law criminalises possession of gold, therefore making the work of small scale miners illegal. Now, the Bill seeks to formalise the work of artisanal and small-scale gold miners, who have become critical in terms of gold mining and deliveries to Fidelity Printers and Refiners. Other progressive provisions in the Bill cover the protection of the environment, sustainable development and the establishment of the Safety, Health and Rehabilitation Fund.

BNC records growth in mined nickel

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BNC records growth in mined nickel

Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC) says tonnes of nickel mined for the year ended March 31, 2022 increased 13 percent to 463,338 from 412,605 tonnes the previous year largely driven by on-going development projects.

BNC which is engaged in the mining and extraction of nickel and production of nickel byproducts had its shares delisted from the ZSE on December 15, 2021 and became the fourth company to be listed on the USD-denominated stock exchange VFEX on the 17th of the same month.

Muchadeyi Masunda, the group’s chairman, in statement of the financials said that commissioning of the Re-deep and Tie-in project was delayed by nearly one month, due to unforeseen technical challenges, resulting in only 4 days of production in April 2021.

“The project was, however, successfully completed and resulted in the intended benefits of reduced ore tramming distances, elimination of double handling and provision of access to deeper-lying mineral resources being achieved,” he said.

Masunda noted that the changes in the massive resource footprint, coupled with the need to optimise the extraction of the entire mineral resource, necessitated the pre-planned transition from the low-volume, high-grade strategy to the new high-volume, low-grade strategy.

“As a result, the combined effect of the above factors led to tonnes ore mined for the year totalling 463,338, which was 13 percent higher than the previous year’s 412,605 tonnes,” said Masunda.

He added that tonnes ore milled of 461,130 were 12 percent higher than last year’s tonnage of 411,754, in tandem with the higher tonnage mined.

“In line with the new strategy, head grade declined to 1,30 percent from 1,52 percent for the prior year while recovery efficiency was 85,0 percent versus 85,9 percent for last year.

“Consequently, Nickel in concentrate production declined by five percent to 5,082 tonnes from the previous year’s 5,363 tonnes,” said Masunda.

He noted that the aged and obsolete underground mining mobile equipment resulted in poor and inconsistent availability during the year under review and thus compromised production.

In addition, he said that the significant challenges associated with changes in the massive ore body footprint were experienced in September and October 2021.

During the period under review, unit cash cost of production (C1) increased by 43 percent to US$10,749 per tonne while the all-in-sustaining cost of production increased by 45 percent from US$8,552 per tonne for the prior year, to US$12,396 per tonne.

Masunda said that the increase in unit production cost was mainly due to the decrease in Nickel production and the high cost of maintaining the old and obsolete underground mining mobile equipment.

He said that the disparity between the official auction and parallel market rates continued to widen during the year.

“With local suppliers using the parallel market rates rather than the auction rates in their pricing models, the discrepancy in the two rates had an adverse impact on the Company’s costs of local inputs,” he said.

According to Masunda, nickel sold for the year, amounted to 4,720 tonnes, 14 percent lower than prior year sales of 5,496 tonnes, reflecting the lower Nickel production.

He said that the Company’s off-take contract expired in early March 2022, after requisite contracted

Nickel concentrates had been delivered while deliveries under the old contract were completed on 9 March 2022.

“Finalisation of a new two-year contract for the supply of 100,000 tonnes of Nickel concentrates took longer than anticipated.

“The contract was only signed and approved by the relevant regulatory authorities at the end of April 2022. Deliveries under the new contract commenced on May 2, 2022,” said Masunda.

During the period under review, the group’s capital expenditure amounted to US$6.5 million lower than US$8.9 million in 2021.

Masunda said subject to funding, being available, the programme to replace the old and unreliable underground mining mobile equipment is expected to take at least two years to complete and the programme will be funded from a mix of internal cash flows and external loans.

 

 

Business Weekly

Gold coins to attract five percent surcharge

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Gold coins to attract five percent surcharge

A MINIMUM five percent surcharge, covering production costs, will apply on gold coins, which will go on sale starting July 25, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe announced on Monday.

The gold coins, being introduced as an alternative store of value, will be sold both in USD and local currency at the prevailing international gold price.

RBZ governor, Dr John Mangudya, told Parliament that the additional charge will be on top of that determined by the prevailing gold price.

“We do not expect to charge anything above five percent,” he said.

Dr Mangudya said the gold coins were also expected to stabilise the exchange rate. They will be sold through the RBZ and its subsidiaries, Fidelity Gold Refinery and Aurex, local banks and selected international banking partners.

Dubbed the Mosi-oa-Tunya, each coin will have a unique serial number, weigh one troy ounce and have a purity of 22 carats.

“Upon purchase, the buyer shall take physical possession of the coin and be issued with a Bearer Ownership Certificate. The buyer or holder of the coin may opt to place it in the custody of bankers of own choice in which case a safe custody certificate/receipt will also be issued,” said Dr Mangudya.

In terms of liquidity and tradability, the coin will have liquid asset status, that is, it will be capable of being easily converted to cash and will be tradable locally and internationally.

The coin may also be used for transactional purposes and will also enjoy a Prescribed Asset Status, meaning that institutional investors can use it to meet regulatory requirements for prescribed asset investments.

“The coin can also be used as security for loans and credit facilities. At the instance of the holder, the Bank will buy back the coin. Entities selling the coins shall be required to apply Know Your Customer principles.” – New Ziana.

Cabinet approves the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill

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Cabinet approves the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill

Cabinet has approved the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill. 

This was announced by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Mr Nick Mangwana.

“Cabinet has approved the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill which was presented By Minister of Justice Hon Ziyambi and Deputy Attorney General, Hon Diaz,” said Mangwana.

The incoming law now limits mining rights on farming land of 200 hectares or less without farmer’s consent.

“In terms of the current or the incoming law, a miner cannot just walk onto a farmer’s land and start prospecting. They must seek permission from the landowner first. If consent is unreasonably withheld, then there is procedure for resolving the dispute…” DAG Dias

More to follow…

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