Mining ZimbabweLatest Mining News, Policy and Industry Updates

Krugersdorp (South Africa) Magistrates’ Court last week acquitted 14 illegal miners who were accused of charges of rape, sexual assault, and robbery with aggravating circumstances.

The rape and robbery charges against 14 men, among them Zimbabweans, who are also suspected of being illegal miners, were withdrawn after police couldn’t link them to the rapes through DNA evidence. The men were arrested during police raids on the abandoned mine where the rapes took place.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said that the alleged illegal miners remained in custody and would now only face a charge of contravening the Immigration Act.

“The decision to withdraw all the mentioned charges was informed by the outcome of the DNA results, which excluded all the accused, as well as a consultation process that the NPA had with all the complainants in the matter,” she added.

Illegal mining is rife in South Africa, with miners known locally as “Zama Zamas” searching for gold at the many disused and abandoned mines in and around the Johannesburg region. Krugersdorp is a mining town on the western edges of Johannesburg.

Illegal mining gangs are considered dangerous by the police, are usually armed and are known to fight violent turf battles with rival groups. The trade is believed to be dominated by immigrants who enter illegally from neighbouring countries namely Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

The 14 men who had rape and robbery charges against them dropped are accused of being in South Africa illegally and have been charged with immigration offences.

When 22-year-old Mr Rania Moyo left home at around 4 am on Thursday last week for work at Velocity 36 Mine in Silobela, he never bothered to bid his parents goodbye as he believed he would return home as usual.

There was no way he could have known that one hour later he was going to be trapped 100 metres underground for the next four days.

When he arrived at work that day, he met his workmates and they proceeded to enter the mine shaft at around 5 am. Soon after, the shaft started collapsing and his two workmates managed to navigate through the cave-in, to reach the entrance.

The shaft where Rania Moyo was trapped underground for four days at Velocity 36 Mine in Silobela

They escaped right before a big boulder fell and blocked the opening, trapping Mr Moyo inside the shaft.

“The moment l realised l was trapped underground in that shaft, l prayed to God asking him to accept my soul in heaven because l did not think l would come out alive,” said Mr Moyo, who was rescued on Monday afternoon and is recovering from his home in Silobela.

“It was around 5 am and we had just entered the shaft when the mine started caving in. We immediately moved towards the entrance trying to escape before it could get blocked,” he said.

Mr Moyo said he knew death was suddenly catching up with him when he was trapped in the shaft in a space so small that he could not even stretch his legs or sit up straight. He was trapped in a space so dark he could not even see his own hands. He said temperatures also dropped and he felt like he was going to freeze inside the shaft that Thursday morning.

“I could not even move a muscle and l knew screaming was not going to help. I do not know when was the last time l prayed, but on that day, l prayed really hard, asking God to accept my soul when l get to heaven. I apologised for all the wrong things that l have done in my life because l didn’t think I would survive,” said Mr Moyo.

The miner said he is not really sure what day or time it was when he finally heard movement and voices of people outside trying to communicate with him.

“Because l had no food or water, whenever I started feeling weak l would scoop a handful of soil and eat it to try and regain my energy,” Mr Moyo said.

He said the shaft became his home and toilet for what he has now been told were four days.

“On the day the entrance was opened l could not believe l had survived. It seemed like a dream because l have never heard of anyone who survives being underground for days without food and water,” he said.

The miner said he was taken to Silobela District Hospital where he was checked and given boosters to regain his energy. He was discharged on the same day and is still recovering from home.

Will this mine worker go back to the mine where he nearly died?

“I have no choice, but to go back to the shaft as soon as I regain my strength because this is the only source of income that l know. If l do not go back in the mine shaft, it means my family will go hungry,” he said.

The miner’s mother, Mrs Polite Moyo, said she arrived at the scene on Saturday and never thought she would ever see her son alive again

She said when he was rescued, he was taken for a medical check-up.

“He came out on Monday; it was on the fifth day. He did not eat anything. I never thought he would come out alive,” she said.

Kwekwe District Civil Protection Unit chairperson Mr Fortune Mpungu thanked everyone who came to rescue Mr Moyo.

“When l heard the news, I immediately put the word out that help was needed at the mine. The Ministry of Mines, police, small-scale miners, and the community came to help the CPU in saving the young man. This incident showed everyone that a community comes together in times of need and they assist each other,” he said.

He said the teams camped outside the shaft regularly engaging with the miner to ensure that he was still alive.

“I am urging all small-scale miners to ensure that their mines are regularly inspected to ensure the safety of their miners. Miners should avoid going underground when it is raining as the soil will be loose,” said Mr Mpungu. –

Chronicle

Invictus has revealed it is now completely self-funded after it raised AUD48,7 million (nearly US$32 million) in capital funding in the year ended June, which has gone into ongoing drilling activities in its Cabora Bassa project.

Following years of failing to secure funding to start the Cabora Bassa project in northern Zimbabwe, Invictus has managed to attract investors while also implementing several capital-raising initiatives.

With Europe desperately looking for new gas and oil sources as it will soon stop such purchases from Russia owing to Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, Zimbabwe has scaled up its support to Invictus to cash in on increasing demand for the commodity.

Invictus estimates that the country has oil reserves of around 5,5 billion barrels and significant natural gas reserves in the Cabora Bassa project.

“Further bolstering the company’s financial position is the AU$20 million (US$12,95 million, plus an additional AU$25 million, US$16,18 million, subsequent to the decision to solely fund the drilling campaign) raised through private placements to sophisticated and institutional investors, along with a further AUD3,7 million (US$2,39 million) raised through the conversion of options during the financial year,” Invictus said in its 2022 annual report for the year ended June it shared with the firm’s shareholders.

“The capital raises have been supported by a range of existing shareholders and new investors, placing the company in a strong position to self-fund the drilling of the Mukuyu-1 and Baobab-1 wells. A discovery at Mukuyu-1 or Baobab-1, could be transformational for not only Invictus and its shareholders, but Zimbabwe and the wider southern Africa energy market.”

Invictus said it got approval from the Depository Trust Company (DTC) in July to provide real-time electronic clearing and settlement for its ordinary shares traded on the OTCQB through the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation in the United States.

DTC is an America-based corporation that performs the functions of a central securities depository as part of the US national market system.

“The approval for DTC eligibility simplifies the process of trading for North America-based investors and enhances the liquidity of the company’s shares on the OTCQB by broadening the pool of brokerage firms that will allow their clients to trade the stock,” Invictus added.

The OTCQB (over-the-counter QB), also referred to as a venture market, is a platform for entrepreneurial and developmental stages for US and international companies under the American financial securities firm, OTC Markets.

“To be eligible, companies must be current in their reporting, have a minimum bid price of US$0,01, may not be in bankruptcy and must undergo an annual verification and management certification process,” part of OTC Markets standards read.

“These standards provide a strong baseline of transparency to improve the information and trading experience for investors.”

Seeking such investment opportunities has helped the energy firm to carefully control expenditures and spending by utilising its own team to expedite the completion of high-quality work.

As of June 30, 2022, the carrying value of the capitalised exploration and evaluation properties of the consolidated entity was AUD28 228 960 (US$18,27 million) from a 2021 comparative of AUD8 821 190 (US$5,71 million).

Recovering these funds is dependent on several factors including the sale of the company’s assets. Other factors include the level of reserves and resources, future technological changes, cost of drilling and production, production rates, future legal changes (including changes to environmental restoration obligations) and changes to commodity prices.

The firm’s capital spending led to it increasing its total assets to AUD43,13 million (US$27,89 million) in the period under review from a 2021 comparative of AUD18,38 million (US$11,89 million).

IEL was in a very liquid form having AUD3,30 (US$2,13) to every dollar of debt, at the end of June.

Challenges facing Invictus include the impact of COVID-19 on supply chains and the Russia/Ukraine war’s effect on global energy prices.

Invictus is positioning itself to be a major gas and energy source in southern Africa.

“We remain ambitious with our plans to expand and build on our achievements to date, drilling two basin opening wells, building a carbon offset business and continuing to evaluate new ventures that fit within our strategy,” it said.

Newsday

An artisanal gold miner was killed, while four others escaped unhurt when a pit in which they were illegally prospecting for the precious mineral collapsed in Bulawayo.

Bulawayo police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Nomalanga Msebele confirmed the incident, which occurred Wednesday morning.

“On Wednesday morning around 0715hrs a man from Cowdry Park received a call that there was an unknown deceased man trapped at the gravel pit whilst illegally mining gold,” she said.

Msebele added the now deceased’s left leg was trapped to knee level by a stone and loose soil.

“There were other unidentified illegal miners milling around who then assisted to retrieve the body of the deceased.

“After retrieving the body the other illegal miners fled the scene,” she said.

Police said the deceased is a male between the ages of 35 and 40, with no further particulars.

Members of the public have been warned against mining in undesignated areas.

“I can confirm that police in Bulawayo are investigating a case of an illegal miner who died at the (Bulawayo) City Council’s gravel pit in Khumalo, Bulawayo.

New Zimbabwe