Mining ZimbabweLatest Mining News, Policy and Industry Updates

Lithium technology companies are jostling for a foot in the door of the rapidly accelerating North American integrated battery metals supply chain, whether becoming a battery precursor material manufacturer or a potentially disruptive lithium direct extraction tech provider.

Vancouver-based Nano One Materials Corp (TSX: NANO; US-OTC: NNOMF) on May 25 announced the acquisition of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode material maker Johnson Matthey Battery Materials Canada for $10.25 million.

The acquisition includes the team, facilities, equipment, land and other assets, with the team together contributing more than 360 years of scale-up and commercial production know-how.

Notably, the facility includes a 2,400 tonne per year LFP plant in Candiac, Quebec.

The company stresses the plant occupies one-tenth of the 400,000 sq.ft. property, leaving ample room for expansion.

“The rapidly expanding need for responsibly produced cathode materials in North America presents an opportunity for Nano One to deploy its technology and become a leader,” said Nano One CEO Dan Blondal.

He described the initiative as a “critical link in the mines-to-mobility initiative.”

The acquisition is fully funded and is on a cash-free, debt-free basis, subject to certain working capital adjustments. The transaction is expected to complete by 2022, subject to JMBM Canada fulfilling contractual commitments and certain other customary closing conditions.

Johnson Matthey acquired the Candiac facility in 2015, which has been in operation since 2012. It supplies cathode material to the lithium-ion battery sector for automotive and non-automotive applications for a select group of customers.

The company expects its strategic location in Quebec to provide it with the benefit of access to a North American ecosystem, which will serve the broader global community with cost-effective, resilient, and environmentally sustainable cathode materials.

At $2.31, Nano One’s TSX-quoted equity gained 42.2% in early trading on May 25, giving it a market capitalization of more than $200 million. However, over the 12-month frame, the stock is still down 47%.

Direct extraction technology

Meanwhile, physical chemist Jack Lifton, the man credited for coining the term ‘technology metals’ back in 2007, tells The Northern Miner he is excited about a direct lithium extraction technology a company he is involved with, One World Lithium (US-OTC: OWRDF; CSE: OWLI), has recently licenced from the US Department of Energy.

The scientist views the newly licensed technology as vertically integrating the production of battery-grade lithium carbonate directly from brines in a single reactor. The problem is the patents issued to the DoE are still so fresh, and with the licencing deal just executed, One World is looking for an in-field brine source to test out its kit.

“As a mining company, we remain focused on prospective properties of merit that may contain recoverable lithium at a commercial scale, from a wide range of concentrations,” said Lifton in an interview.

“We can vertically integrate such a deposit into the company to include the highest value-added form of that commodity by focusing on an advanced direct lithium extraction process for the extraction and separation of lithium from natural brines, directly generating lithium carbonate,” he said.

“In summary, we will focus on developing properties as assets that fuel our ability to offer low-cost lithium separation and direct production of battery-grade lithium carbonate.”

The extraction method uses unique carbon dioxide injection mixing techniques to precipitate lithium carbonate from brines quantitatively. This process requires no solvent, electrodes, membranes, or sorbents. It only uses carbon dioxide from industrial waste, exhaust gas streams, or even ambient air.

It significantly reduces capital and operation costs, process time, energy requirements, and, paradoxically, overall carbon dioxide emissions.

According to Lifton, the process is fully deployable and operational at the brine source, eliminating the need to evaporate the brines and/or transportation of brine concentrates to a chemical processing facility to form and purify lithium carbonate. Deployment of this technology will reduce dependence on foreign lithium sources.

However, it joins a widening circle of lithium tech-focused companies hoping to commercialize their particular brand of direct extraction technology. The proof, however, lies in whether any of these companies can move beyond successfully demonstrating bench-scale testing in the laboratory to demonstrating the economical value of the new technology in an in-field application.

At 3c per share, One World’s equity is down about 71% over the past 12 months, giving it a market capitalization of $5.4 million.

Source: NorthenMiner

The protection of workers remains a priority for mining companies as zero harm policies continue to gain traction.

Rudairo Mapuranga

The mining industry in Zimbabwe has taken necessary measures to see through the achievement of the zero-harm mantra.

The country’s body, representing Large scale producers, the Chamber of Mines works with Government, labour and Small-Scale Miner organisations to ensure that mining operations cause no harm or injury to those working in mines. This is done by encouraging mines to develop and implement safety, occupational health and environmental systems at their operations.

In this regard, the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe works with the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development’s Mining Engineering Department which is responsible for the safety and health inspectorate function. It works with the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) which is the lead agency for occupational health and safety in the country. In addition, it works with the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), the national authority on environmental management.

According to the Chamber of Mines CEO Mr Isaac Kwesu, the chamber established a standing committee of Safety, Health and Environment (SHE), whose mandate is to make recommendations to the Executive Committee on SHE issues in the mining industry.

He said through the SHE committee, that the mining sector has seen the number of deaths decreasing significantly.

“Safety, health and environment are key aspects that we must consider when undertaking mining activities and the chamber of mines subscribe to zero harm and have structures in place to ensure that there is zero harm in the mining industry. Through our SHE committee structures of the industry, we have also seen the number of calamities or casualties in mining coming down significantly. Some large mining houses have been recording zero deaths and it is common that if other mining operations learn how others are doing it through existing structures of the mining industry, we can achieve these zero harms,” Kwesu said.

For example, Bulawayo Mining Company owned gold producer, How Mine, has employed strategies to improve the safety and health of its workers which has seen it achieving a reduction in injuries from 299 to 12 per year. The company has made great strides in ensuring a safe working environment as a result of an integrated systems approach which has seen them using three different systems some of which were borrowed from the chamber of mines, SHE committee.

Victoria Falls Stock Exchange-listed nickel producer Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC) has not recorded fatalities at its Trojan Nickel Mine since 2015 an indication that the chamber of Mines SHE committee has been of significance to the reduction of calamities in the mining industry. The company recorded BNC 2.6 million fatality-free shifts last year with Caledonia’s Blanket mine also reaching over 2.6 million fatality-free shifts last year.

The Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development Dr Polite Kambamura said the government was working with the mining players to ensure that there was zero harm. He said the Ministry of Mines has been conducting safety awareness campaigns to promote the achievement of zero harm.

“We encourage miners to adhere to set safety standards by safety awareness campaigns being done by the ministry,” Kambamura said.

The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development Chairperson Hon Edmond Mkaratigwa said the parliament was doing all it can to ensure that the safety of workers has been achieved.

“Parliament’s position as the representative of the masses in Zimbabwe stands with what protects life as the most sacred aspect and then the body as the first capital of all sources of livelihood for all workers and their families.

“Parliament has therefore voiced against these mining accidents and all unsafe practices at the workplace and surrounding environment. We have raised concerns and when these are being addressed, we are happy and will support if there is any other need for us to unlock when any resisted difficulty but necessary options are to be taken towards achieving that target.

“I also hasten to say, we should deal with safety and zero harm but where zero harm has failed, we should still fail safely and be able to rescue and recover. This is our position that mitigation is fine, prevention is fine and response, rescue and recovery are equally fine. I commend the initiative and we support that,” Hon Mkaratigwa said.

Duration Gold’s Vubachikwe mine has appointed Mr None Kananji as its Mine Manager to steer its development and sustainability agenda.

Prince Sunduzani

The company said it appointed Mr Kananji for his honesty and technical competency, which it said were key in meeting the company’s goal.

“As you are aware, Vubachikwe Mine continues to undergo a thorough business and operational review as part of the Vubachikwe Going Forward Programme”. In the short term we will make Vuba a sustainable and profitable mine for the benefit of all stakeholders,” said the director Allan Dolan.

Before his elevation, Mr Kananji was the company’s Underground manager and acting mine manager.

Duration Gold

Duration Gold Limited offers gold exploration and production services. The company owns 5 core assets with historic production of 4.6 million oz. It also sells gold at international spot prices. The company was founded in 2006 and is based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Duration Gold Limited operates as a subsidiary of Clarity Enterprises Limited.

One of its flagship gold mines is Vubachikwe, which is one of Zimbabwe’s oldest gold mines.

EXALO #202, the oil and gas drilling rig that is on its way to kick off crucial test well drilling at Invictus Energy’s Muzarabani oilfields, has been stuck in Tanzania due to delays in releasing requisite papers.

The driller, which is operated by Romania-headquartered Exalo Drilling SA, recently clinched the deal but was said to be undertaking a similar project in Tanzania.

Exalo was expected to make the journey from Tanzania to Zimbabwe this month, arriving in time to execute the assignment from July 1, according previous statements by Invictus.

In an interview, Paul Chimbodza, whose firm, Geo Associates is a shareholder in the project, confirmed the delay, but said several parts of the plant had already arrived in Zimbabwe.

“There have been delays in Tanzania, they are working on the paperwork but several parts of the equipment have already started arriving,” Chimbodza said.

On Monday, the firm said it was on course to kick start the Mukuyu-1 oil and gas drilling, after raising US$8,5 million to fund project.

The funds were raised through a private placement.

“Under the placement, Invictus will issue 60 026,165 new fully paid ordinary shares at an issue price of $0,20 per new share, which represents a 27,3% discount to the company’s share price on May 18, 2022, the last trading date before the placement, and a 9,5% discount to the five-day volume weighted average price prior to that date,” Invictus said.

Invictus Energy, the Australian resources junior miner is hoping to strike a game-changing gas or oil find at the Muzarabani-based Cabora Bassa oilfields.

Results of the drilling assignment will also have a huge bearing on the economically troubled Zimbabwe’s future.

In a statement about three months ago, Invictus reiterated its confidence that there were high chances that massive fortunes were lying under the earth’s crust at the heart of swathes of boundless forests in Zimbabwe’s Zambezi Valley region.

The drilling represents an important phase in Invictus’ southern African ambition, one which has taken seven years of exploration and fund raising to undertake.

Invictus said a binding drilling rig contract with Exalo has been inked.

“Invictus is pleased to confirm it has executed a binding drilling rig contract with Exalo Drilling SA to drill the Muzarabani-1 exploration well and an option for an additional exploration well for the basin opening drilling campaign, scheduled to commence in June 2022,” the company said in a shareholder update.

It has been a long journey for Invictus, which came to the Zimbabwean scene in 2015, when talk of oil or gas reserves in Zimbabwe resurfaced.

Mobil, the global oil giant, had explored, and abandoned the Zambezi Valley in the 1990s, but after collecting vital data, now worth about US$3 million, which attracted Scott Macmillan, the Invictus chief executive officer, to try his luck.

Macmillan is a Mobil veteran.

The firm has finalised processing the Cabora Bassa 2D Seismic Survey, with data interpretation underway at the time the statement was issued.

But early signals have revealed “multiple trapping geometries and a target rich hydrocarbon environment”.

Invictus has identified several potential well locations for the Muzarabani-1 well and “is maturing additional prospects identified from the CB21 survey for a second well to be drilled in the upcoming campaign”.

“The maiden drilling programme to test the world-class Muzarabani prospect is coming together very well, having secured Exalo’s #202 rig, global well services provider Baker Hughes and long lead items,” Macmillan said then.

Newsday

AN investor has come to the rescue of Kamativi residents who have gone for more than a decade without access to clean water after installing two solar powered boreholes.

The former tin producing town whose inhabitants have been reeling from lack of access to potable water following the closure of the mining company in 1994 due to a drop in global prices of the mineral had their situation worsen following the vandalism of copper cables.

This adversely affected the pumping of water to residents forcing them to walk long distances to a local dam which exposed them to diseases, risks of drowning and crocodile attacks.

Kamativi Mining Company (Private) Limited (KMC), has been supporting the community through various interventions since they begun prospecting for minerals at the old tin mine 3 years ago.

One such intervention which has been received with joy by the community of Kamativi which had slid into oblivion was the installation of two solar powered boreholes earlier this year which have been serving the two primary schools and community at large. In addition, the company donated 12 high-capacity solar batteries used by Kamativi Clinic to replace the ones that had worn out exposing the health facility to storage challenges for medicines.

The company was instrumental in the provision of water at the height of the pandemic by providing a water bowser to supply the precious liquid to communities which was complemented by a donation of masks, soaps, fuel and distribution of Covid-19 related information through printing of posters and flyers.

KMC’s spokesperson, Mr Turkey Liang told Chronicle that they had decided to begin their corporate social responsibility role way before commencing production after being moved by the plight of the residents who were lacking basic social amenities such as clean water.

“From the time we have been here doing exploration we have been carrying out our corporate social responsibility part by supporting the community through various interventions such as ensuring provision of clean water which was a huge challenge to residents. We also donated paints and cement to the primary school while we replaced solar batteries to the local clinic to help in powering it. All these initiatives have been undertaken before we have begun to get revenue from our investment. KMC will continue to do our role on the social responsibility side to develop our community and benefit our people,” said Mr Liang.

The community has also benefited through a donation of sporting kit consisting of footballs and uniforms.

He said in addition to the water provision intervention the company would also reconnect the community that has been living in the dark to the electricity grid while also rehabilitating the water supply system to ensure there is running water in the homes during the plant construction stage.

Mr Liang said the mining company which was at exploration stage with minerals such as tin, tantalite, beryllium and lithium likely to be mined at the end of 2023 would create job opportunities for around 500 locals.

Ward councillor Jacob Nyoni said he was impressed by the social responsibility role that KMC was playing in developing his community which had been reeling in poverty since the closure of the tin mine 28 years ago leading to economic and social amenities collapse.

“When this project came here, we never expected what they were doing. Now we realise they are not here to harvest our resources and leave us poorer as has been happening in other places. It was a sorry state. People were fetching water from unsafe sources such as dams which were shared by cattle and goats. Water provision was one of the important interventions done by this company.

“Since 1994 we had been drinking untreated water as it was pumped straight from the dam into the tanks and straight to the communities. Over the past 4 years after the electricity cable were stolen, we have literally had no water, a situation that could have really costs us lives during the peak of Covid 19 had it not been for this company,” he said.

The company has electrified the police station and some houses while developments are underway for the construction of a line to connect to the 33Kv transmission meant to eventually light up the ghost town.

Meanwhile Kamativi Residents Association (KARA) secretary, Mr Mathias Sibanda said the investment was worthwhile while praising the investor for employing a different approach of first taking care of the community before realising profits.

“We have been waiting for this kind of development for a very long time. Since the closure of Kamativi mine we have not had an investor but since the Chinese came who have been exploring over the past 3 years we have got hope that something is coming to our town.

“We are very happy about it, especially with what they have done so far. They have shown us that we are heading for what we had been expecting for a very long time. They haven’t  started production but they have shown a lot of social responsibility by supporting our  clinics, schools and community. They are within the framework of Government’s vision 2030 of developing the economy and bettering communities.”

The company which recently held a stakeholders meeting with sections that included Government departments, traditional and political leadership and residents among others to familiarise them with the project whose production is expected to begin at the end of 2023.

The Chronicle

The Zimbabwe Diamond, Allied and Mineral Workers Union Zdamwu) has described as peanuts the 108% salary increase approved by the National Employment Council, Associated Mine Workers Union of Zimbabwe (Amwuz) and the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe (CMZ) on May 19.

Zdamwu secretary-general, Justice Chinhema yesterday described the salary increment as another slap in the face for the industry.

“Even if they negotiate 500% — as long it is in local currency it is a non-starter because the only solution is a United States dollar salary,” Chinhema said.

Chinhema said before last week’s salary increase, the official exchange rate was pegged at US$359.

“So the increase of the minimum wage is US$1 up to December 2022. Rates change every week and we doubt that by December we will still be alive. Cooking oil is now US$6 from US$3,50 for two litres.  We need currency stability,“ he said, pointing out that mine workers in other African countries like Ghana earned US$700 minimum wage.

With the current adjustment, the highest paid employee will now be getting $215 872, while the lowest paid mine worker will get $93 074 per month.

Before the adjustment, the least paid employee was earning $44 640 a month, while the highest paid was getting $103 536.

In US dollar terms and using the official exchange rate the least paid worker is entitled to US$198, while the highest paid should get US$459.

The new salary structure is for the period April 1 to December 31, 2022.

Newsday