Mining ZimbabweLatest Mining News, Policy and Industry Updates

VILLAGERS in Hwange’s Lusumbani area have appealed to government to review underground mining concessions granted to coal miners to ensure they don’t pollute the environment and endanger their lives.

Greater Whange Residents Association chairperson Fidelis Chima said Lusumbani residents were opposed to the opening of underground mines near their villages.

“We acknowledge that Hwange Colliery Mining Company is mining within the stipulated legal framework, 250 metres away from the community. However, we are saddened by the colonial system of concessions where individuals or companies were given vast pieces of land that had been idle.  We appeal to our Parliament to revisit this issue,” Chima said.

Hwange Colliery Mining Company spokesperson Beauty Mutombwe said the coal miner last week met residents and reached consensus on the matter.

“We had a meeting with residents last week; they don’t have problems with our mining activities. If there is any individual that is still experiencing problems, that person can approach us,” she said.

NewsDay

DEFUNCT steel manufacturer, Zisco, has paid off a $40 million debt it owed the country’s power utility, Zesa after securing a loan from the Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe (IDCZ) recently.

In November last year, Zesa disconnected power supply to Zisco over a $40 million debt leaving the Redcliff-based steel plant relying on expensive diesel-powered generators.

Redcliff Municipality and ZimChem Refiners, a subsidiary of Zisco were also affected by the disconnection as they share the same electricity grid with the steel producer.

In a recent interview, Zisco group chief executive officer, Dr Farai Karonga said the company had to secure a loan from IDCZ to settle the debt.

“We were bailed out by the Industrial Development Corporation who loaned us the required $40 million which we deposited to Zesa.

The money had been accrued over a long period of time and something had to be done hence we took the route of a loan.

We felt we needed to break the vicious cycle,” he said.

“We are now working on the modalities of seeing how much can be paid by Redcliff, ZimChem and ourselves.

As you may be aware, Redcliff used most of the power which they use to pump water to the residents, translating to about 70 percent,” he said.

ZimChem accounted for about 20 percent of the power with Zisco accounting for the remaining 10 percent.

He said they were yet to be connected since they were working on separating the grid so that each entity can be charged separately.

“They are in the process of separating the grid so that Redcliff, ZimChem and ourselves can be charged separately.

Each entity can now stand on its own and be able to pay for their own power,” said Dr Karonga.

The process is expected to be completed in a month’s time.

Meanwhile, Dr Karonga said the development may come as a boost to ZimChem who are supposed to start producing chemicals used in road rehabilitation.

“As you may be aware, ZimChem was given a contract by the Government to supply tar for road refurbishment under the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP) 2.

“So, the disconnection had negatively impacted on the production since they could not produce as they were relying on generators like us,” he said.

The Chronicle

THE Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development has recommended the introduction of electronic vouchers for small-scale miners to enhance their security after receiving payment for gold deliveries.

Of late, small-scale miners across the country have become targets of robbers after receiving payment from Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR) at milling centres where the country’s sole gold buyer would be buying the yellow metal.

As part of boosting gold production in the country, FPR has established gold buying units milling centres across all the mining regions in the country.

In an interview yesterday following their recent tour of gold mines and gold mining communities in the southern region of the country, Mines and Mining Development Portfolio Committee chairperson Edmund Mkaratigwa, who is also Zanu-PF legislator for Shurugwi South constituency, said: “We established that at some milling centres
particularly in Gwanda, many a time, the robbers would know when Fidelity has been to the site, when the people have been paid and they pounce on the unsuspecting miners who would have been paid for their gold deliveries.

“We also recommended that it will be good to probably introduce electronic vouchers so much that miners would ordinarily visit a bank at an opportune time only known to them, a bank of their choice unbeknown to the criminals or would-be criminals and en-cash their vouchers in hard cash to enhance security of their rewards.”

During their tour, the portfolio committee visited Bubi Milling Centre in Matabeleland North and milling centres in Gwanda, Matabeleland South.

Mkaratigwa said at the Bubi Gold Milling Centre it was established that among other challenges, the miners were faced with power challenges due to incessant power cuts by the Zesa.

“At Bubi Gold Milling Centre, there were some challenges with neighbouring milling centres who seemed to be actually getting more throughput from miners around the Bubi community as opposed to this establishment.

“We found that the challenge was to do with some operational teething problems as some equipment was not up to standard in terms of operation, maintenance and continuity in terms of guaranteed service to the miners.

“Our recommendations were that the miners around support their facility by ensuring that their product which they would have mined for processing at the milling centres and Fidelity should ensure that they pay timeously and also the issue to do with pricing is addressed so that its attractive to the miners,” he said.

Bubi Milling Centre is a joint venture project between the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) and small-scale miners in Bubi district.

Towards the end of last year, ZMDC announced that it was pouring US$2,2 million into Bubi Milling Centre (Private) Limited to capacitate artisanal and small-scale miners with mining equipment and accessories.

The capacitation programme involves the installation of a Carbon-in-Pulp (CIP) plant at Bubi Milling Centre as well as equipping ZOO 7 and ZOO 9 small-scale mines with mining equipment and accessories such as hoist, generators and electricity transformers.

A CIP plant is an extraction technique for recovery of gold, which has been liberated into cyanide solution as part of the gold cyanidation process.

Vice-President Dr Constantino Chiwenga commissioned the Bubi Milling Centre in July 2018.

Under the Second Republic, the country targets to establish more gold service centres across all the mining regions as a strategy towards attaining the US$12 billion milestone by 2023 with the gold sub-sector expected to contribute US$4 billion.

The Chronicle

Villagers in Chimanimani, Chiadzwa and Penhalonga districts have raised concerns over illegal artisanal mining activities in the areas which have left uncovered pits that are death traps for both humans and livestock.

The pits have also become fertile breeding areas for mosquitoes during the rainy season.

Apart from that the miners were using chemicals that are harmful to animal and plant life.

“The open pits being left behind have become death traps for our livestock. Locals have lost hundreds of their cattle, goats, donkeys and even sheep.

“This year alone we have recorded eight human deaths. Most of these are drowning as the pits are now filled with water,” the Amalgamated Chiadzwa Community Development Trust vice chairperson, Jey Kasakara, told  Business Times.

He said a new challenge has also emerged in the pits being mosquito breeding sites.

He added: “Our area has become a hotbed for malaria, something that was unheard of prior to this mining venture that began in 2007.”

The Environmental Health technician with the Ministry of Health and Child Care stationed at Chishingwi Clinic in Marange, Mavis Chanakira, said malaria cases had shot up in Chiadzwa, in Marange district.

“We have made the random surveys and they proved that Marange (district) had become one area that is a malaria zone. This can be easily traced or linked to the huge open pits left behind by mining firms and artisanal diamond panners that are abundant in the area,” Chanakira said.

She added: “Had these pits been filled up we are sure the cases of malaria would not be as high as they are in the area at the moment.

“Our appeal is for the provision of mosquito nets to the communities around the areas with these pits to control mosquito bites and ultimately malaria.”

Kudzai Mlambo from Chimanimani said the illegal gold panners were encroaching into the fields of locals as they seek the precious mineral.

“We have seen some families losing their houses as the underground gold mining takes root. Others have lost their fields as the marauding gold panners stop at nothing to get the gold at any cost and stop at nothing,” Mlambo said.

At Fairview Farm in Mutasa district, commercial farmer Felix Kamba said nearby farmers had lost vast pastureland to the illegal gold processing being done on his property by the illegal gold miners from Tsvingwe in Penhalonga through contamination of the land and dam water.

“The mining is not being done on the property, but the processing of the gold where they use their hammer mills and cyanide and mercury is what is affecting me and other neighbouring farmers. These chemicals they use on our properties are causing havoc on the farm. The cyanide and mercury have polluted the water and destroyed the grazing land,” Kamba said.

He added: “The gold dealers just invaded the farm and set up their hammer mills. The noise pollution from that is unbearable, the pollution levels on the dam are unimaginable, we are thinking of abandoning our dairy project we had set up at the farm as pollution levels are escalating. Soil has been contaminated as well as the water bodies.”

The Manicaland Provincial Mines and Mining Development director Ernest Mugandani told Business Times  that proper and safe ways of mining needed to be adhered to at all times to safeguard the environment. He said those involved in mining activities should not endanger human, animal and plant life while carrying out their activities.

“We keep on saying mining should be smart and we will always say it again and again. We advise the reclamation of once mined areas to be used for other purposes such as agricultural use. Open pits need to be fenced off or filled up. We want our people to be economically empowered while at the same time we leave peacefully with surrounding communities,” Mugandani said.

“Our supervisors are always on the ground to look at these grievances coming from the communities. We do not want them to lose their livestock from these open pits or from cyanide poisoning.

The Zimbabwe Miners Federation Manicaland Province representative Judith Shadaya whose members have been largely blamed for the environmental degradation said the organisation has embarked on a provincial awareness campaign on safe methods of mining with minimal damage to the environment.

“As an organisation we are currently going around mining areas to educate our membership on the best practices of mining,” Shadaya said.

James Mupfumi, director for Centre for Research and Development said it was critical to push the agenda for the speedy enactment of the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill into law.

“We want the laws to be passed such as the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill, the Devolution and others as we realised that there is a lot of lawlessness going on in Chiadzwa, Chimanimani and Tsvingwe in Penhalonga. The absence of the implementation of such laws is impacting negatively on the people,” Mupfumi said.

Business Times

ZIMBABWE’S agro-industrial and mineral commodities continue to maintain the grip as the country’s top export drivers further confirming agriculture and mining as the economic mainstays in meeting the national development agenda.

Under Vision 2030, the Second Republic aims to achieve an upper middle-income economy with a Gross Domestic Product per capita of US$3 500.

To set the tone towards an upper middle-income status, the Government has proclaimed the National Development Strategy 1, a five-year economic blue print, which is already being implemented and running from 2021-2025.

Driving the envisaged economic growth projections under NDS1, is the mining industry which is expected to attain a US$12 billion milestone by 2023 while the contribution from the agriculture sector would be US$1,9 billion by 2025.

Latest data on external trade availed by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) show that in November 2021, the country’s main exports were tobacco (32,2 percent) and semi-manufactured gold (21,5 percent).

Constituting Zimbabwe’s major exports also are nickel ores and concentrates at 14 percent of Zimbabwe’s total exports during the month under review while nickel mattes including platinum group of minerals (PGMs) contributed 12,7 percent, ferro-chromium (4,8 percent), platinum unwrought or in powder form (three percent) and cotton (2,5 percent).

“It was noted that major minerals produced in the country such as nickel concentrates and nickel mattes were exported in a semi-processed form, while nickel ores (including PGMs) are exported in a raw form.

The Chronicle

AUSTRALIAN energy firm Invictus Energy Limited (IEL) has issued a prospectus announcing another capital raising initiative for AUD2 000 000 (US$1 437 383,85) through a security purchase plan (SPP) offer.

This came hardly two weeks after IEL announced that it would issue 35 000 000 placement shares to professional and sophisticated investors at a price of AUD0,10 (US$0,071854654) per share to raise AUD3 500 000 (US$2 514 697,65).

The company later issued the 35 000 000 shares to complete the placement on January 6, pursuant to its existing placement capacity under the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) rules.

However, as an additional capital raising initiative to bolster those efforts, IEL is now undertaking an SPP offer to eligible shareholders to raise an additional
AUD2 000 000 to enable eligible shareholders to participate in the capital raising initiative.

“The placement includes the issue of 17 500 000 free options, being one free option for every two shares subscribed for and issued pursuant to the placement. The issue of the options is the subject of the placement options offer under this prospectus,” IEL said.

“In addition to the placement, the company is undertaking the SPP offer to eligible shareholders, to raise AUD2 000 000 to enable eligible shareholders to participate in the capital raising.”

IEL said the free options would be exercisable at $0,14 (US$0,10056547) each on or before 5pm (WST) on January 31, 2025.

The firm added that all of the shares issued upon exercise of the options would rank equally with the shares on issue at the date of the prospectus.

“The SPP offer is an offer to each eligible shareholder to subscribe for a maximum of
AUD30 000 (US$21 566,126) worth of new shares at an issue price of AUD0,10 per share, together with one SPP option for every two SPP shares subscribed for and issued. Fractional entitlements will be rounded down to the nearest whole number,” IEL said.

Under the SPP offer, the total number of shares issued will not equate to more than 30% of shares on issue at the issue date of the shares.

Further, the issue price of the SPP shares is equal to or greater than 80% of the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of shares for the five days in which trading in the shares occurred before the date of the announcement of the SPP offer.

IEL is extending the SPP offer to shareholders who were registered at 5pm (WST) on December 24, 2021 (the record date) and whose registered address is in Australia or New Zealand whom the company calls “eligible shareholders”.

“Oversubscriptions up to a further AUD1 000 000 (US$719 121,14) may be accepted, at the discretion of the directors, under the SPP,” IEL said.

“All of the shares offered under the SPP offer will rank equally with the shares on issue at the date of this prospectus … The options offered under the SPP offer pursuant to this prospectus will be exercisable at AUD0,14 (US$0,10063125) each on or before 5pm (WST) January 31, 2025.

“All of the shares issued upon exercise of the options will rank equally with the shares on issue at the date of this Prospectus. The SPP offer is non-renounceable, which means that eligible shareholders may not transfer their rights to any securities offered under the SPP offer.”

According to the IEL, the price of the shares under the SPP offer represents a 13% discount to the closing price of Invictus shares prior to the placement and SPP announcement last December. It also represents a 14,1% discount to the 5-day VWAP prior to that date.

IEL has participated in several capital raising initiatives as it continues to lack enough funds to realise the potential of its Muzarabani Project, located in the Mashonaland Central province in Zimbabwe.

The project is believed to hold significant oil and gas reserves.

NewsDay

GOVERNMENT says US$13 million from the $2,3 billion allocated to Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe (IDCZ) will be released in the first quarter of this year towards the refurbishment of Dorowa Minerals.

Industry and Commerce minister Sekai Nzenza says the project, which is expected to be commissioned in April this year, targets to achieve 70% output by mid quarter.

“The funds are expected to be released starting quarter 1 of 2022 for the refurbishment of the Dorowa plant to restore production to the name-plate capacity of 150 000 tpa which translates to over 430 000 tpa of NPK basal fertilizer. This output is enough for current and future NPK fertilizer,” she said

According to the ministry, a feasibility study is under way for a medium to long-term expansion project to increase capacity to 1 000 000t and production of all NPK basal fertilizers including high analysis for local and export in the sub-region.

Nzenza said government together with Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce and CEO Africa Roundtable were tracking capacity utilisation of local companies to ensure they contributed to the attainment of vision 2030.

“We are tracking the capacity utilisation of local companies. The target of 61% capacity utilisation will be monitored in 2022 so that we surpass that target as we contribute to the attainment of Vision 2030,”  Nzenza said.

Funds will be availed to the IDCZ  in 2022 to offer concessionary funding towards the promotion of import substitution and manufactured exports.

However, the government intends to increase Dorowa Minerals production and export for both phosphate and magnetite to take advantage of the trade agreements signed  with Sadc, Comesa, the Africa Continental Free Trade Area and the European Union.

Chemplex, a unit of the IDCZ, will install new equipment and machinery at its two units — the Buhera-based Dorowa Mines and Harare-based Zimphos, which is the country’s sole producer of phosphate fertilizers, aluminium sulphate for water treatment and sulphuric acid.

Zimbabwe’s fertilizer products are currently the most expensive in the region, partly due to high costs which lead to massive production inefficiencies.

The country’s demand for fertilizer in a normal farming season is about 600 000 tonnes, both basal and top dressing, of which 70% goes towards government farming programmes.

NewsDay

THE Chinese embassy in Zimbabwe has claimed that some unnamed Western media outlets were on a smear campaign to discredit its investments.

This follows media coverage of various incidents involving relocation of locals in areas where Chinese mining companies have claims.

“Some Western media outlets keep smearing Chinese investment in Zimbabwe by making and spreading fake news,” the embassy said in a statement yesterday.

“They are not guardians of the interests of the Zimbabwean people, but guardians of illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe. Spooking Chinese investors in Zimbabwe is what they really want.”

Chinese mining companies have been accused of violating labour laws and human rights in areas they were operating.

In Marange, Manicaland province, Chiadzwa villagers are resisting eviction to pave the way for diamond mining by Chinese company Anjin Investments.

In Hwange, Matabeleland North province, 600 Dinde villagers are fighting government over a proposed coal mining project by Chinese mining company, Beifa Investments, as they fear displacement.

In Mutoko, 50 families are reportedly facing eviction to pave way for a granite mining venture by Chinese company, Jinding Mining Zimbabwe.

But in a statement, the company refuted the allegations.

It stated that only three families would be displaced, adding that two of the three families had been compensated.

“There is a malicious and false accusation currently being circulated to the effect that Jinding has not properly compensated two Mutoko families for relocating those families from the Jinding mining claims there.  As for the so-called relocation of 50 households, it is even more rumours and slander. The fact is that the mining project only involves relocation of three families. These accusations are completely groundless. Jinding has all relocation contracts and payment proof of proper compensation for the two families relocated by Jinding arising out of its mining operations,” the company .

NewsDay