CHINESE company, Freestone Mines, is facing litigation for embarking on quarry mining activities in the Dangamvura Mountain before obtaining the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

According to section 97 of the Environmental Management Act, mining companies are obligated to undertake an EIA procedure and apply for an EIA certificate to the Environmental Management Agency (EMA).

Under the confines of EMA Act (Chapter 20:27) as read with Statutory Instrument 7 of 2007 an EIA is a legal requirement.

Last year in November Mutare City Council leased its 6,5-hectare stand situated surrounding Dangamvura Mountain to Freestone Mines and war erupted over failure to consult residents.

Residents demanded council to relocate the Chinese miner to a new site far away from residential areas and water distribution pipes.

Amid the war, both the local authority and Freestone Mines issued statements which confirmed the EIA process had not been undertaken.

Speaking Friday during a community dialogue meeting on Dangamvura Mountain, Centre for Natural Resources Governance (CNRG) director, Farai Maguwu revealed that plans are afoot to take Freestones Mines to court after it ignored the EIA process.

“The Chinese miner started preparatory works for a quarry on Dangamvura Mountain without an EIA. It means they broke the law already and a crime was committed. Section 97 stipulates that anyone who commence a project without EIA is liable to a fine or a jail sentence,” Maguwu said.

“As an organisation working with other organizations here like Manica Youth Assembly (MAYA), Mutare Informal Traders Association (MITA), United Mutare Residents and Ratepayers Trust (UMRRT) among others, we are going to  approach the courts over the quarry. As citizens from Mutare we are not happy with the issue happening at Dangamvura Mountain,” he said.

“Despite that an EIA certificate is there, if they start to mine on the mountain, we will approach the courts and file an urgent chamber application. This application will not allow the miner to operate since the matter will be pending at the courts of law,” he said.

“When CSOs registered their displeasure over the Chinese quarry, Mutare City issued a statement noting it had come to their attention that Freestones Mines had started preparatory works without EIA. We were surprised days later to see an EIA certificate dated 27 September 2021, noting that EIA process was conducted, and a certificate had been issued. However, on 18 November Freestones Mines had issued a statement saying they had not stated operations but were simply doing preparatory works as they wait for the EIA certificate,” Maguwu fumed.

NewZimbabwe

A local investment firm that signed a deal to revive Metallon’s Redwing Mine in eastern Zimbabwe, has taken the corporate rescue practitioner (CRP) of one of the country’s largest gold mining asset to court for terminating the transaction.

Duatlet, comprised of Probadek Investments, Betterbrands Mining — a vehicle owned by prominent gold dealer, Mr Scott Sakupwanya, and Prime Royal Africa on November 17, 2021 signed a four-year agreement with Redwing to revive the mine.

Redwing is under a corporate rescuer, Mr Knowledge Hofisi, of Aurifin Capital.

In the urgent application, in which Duatlet and Propadek are the applicants while Mr Hofisi, Redwing, Betterbrands and Master of the High Court are respondents, the CRP cancelled the deal although he had been furnished with proof of funding.

Duatlet is seeking a court order declaring the agreement valid and be implemented.

In his notice of opposition, Mr Hofisi disagree, arguing that the Duatlet failed to provide proof of funding, a substantive condition needed to operationalise the agreement.

According to Mr Hofisi, Duatlet tried to borrow money, pointing to lack of capacity to mobilise sustainable funding structures. He also argues that the matter should not be dealt with as urgent as it was filed 13 days after termination of the deal.

In terms of the agreement, the consortium was to provide initial working capital to the tune of at least US$3 million for procurement of critical spares, payment of corporate rescue costs, settlement of proven claims by creditors and payment of wages.

Redwing was to get 28 percent of net earnings while Duatlet would get the remainder at intervals directed by a steering committee using transactional platforms approved by the

Fidelity Printers and Refiners. Prior to the signing of the agreement, Betterbrands, which was co-opted into Duatlet was running the mine.

After signing the deal, Betterbrands was ordered to suspend all mining activities, with immediate effect, to pave way for the operationalisation of the joint venture agreement.

“First respondent (Hofisi) purported to cancel the joint venture mining agreement by letter dated 17th December citing that first applicant (Duatlet) had failed to furnish him with proof of funding of the project,” the court papers read.”

“This is notwithstanding that first respondent provided proof of funds through a later dated 29th November, 2021 and a bank guarantee on 15th December 2021.”

After cancelling the deal, Mr Hofisi is alleged to have directed — without approvals from Redwing creditors — Betterbrands to resume operations on December 20, 2021.

“Application is, therefore, seeking the leave of the court institute proceeding against the second respondent (Redwing) for an order declaring the joint venture mining agreement entered into between applicants and the second respondent (Hofisi) valid, and resultantly an order nullifying the authorisation of third mining respondent’s mining activities and the mining location and any subsequent agreements between second and third respondent,” the applicants argue.

Mr Hofisi maintains the fact that Duatlet failed to provide funding 14 days after signing of the joint venture agreement, cancellation of the transactions became inevitable.

“The operationalisation of the joint venture was subject to the first applicant satisfying the condition precedent and for all intends and purposes, only proof of funding was a substantive condition,” says Mr Hofisi.

In his rescue plan, Mr Hofisi said Redwing will need as much as US$6 million to restart production by bringing in new investors into the business valued at about US$30 million.

Underground gold production would resume from level one using conventional hand-held mining techniques before moving to level three to benefit economies of scale.

The Sunday Mail

INVICTUS Energy, the Australian firm searching for oil and gas in Muzarabani, says it has started several initiatives that are already positively impacting the local communities and may transform the area entirely in the future in into a modern settlement.

Managing director, Scott McMillan, said in an interview the initiatives had created direct employment for the locals and indirect economic activity for local businesses, especially during the firm’s seismic campaign.

The Australia Stock Exchange listed company recruited more than 100 locals for its seismic campaign (gathering sub-surface vibrations), while more jobs are expected to be created during exploration well sinking.

The subsurface vibrations from the seismic study are used in the oil and gas exploration to pinpoint locations that have the highest potential to host hydro-carbons, hence increasing the chance of successful discovery.

Invictus lauded the support it has received from the Government, which declared Zimbabwe “Open for Business”, saying this has spurred progress towards a major exploration exercise in Zimbabwe in more than three decades.

“We have also been implementing our corporate social responsibility programme as well and that will continue and also be expanded this year,” MacMillan said.

However, he said the project was still in the exploration phase and future socio-economic activities in the area depended on drilling results and whether commercial discovery was made.

The Muzarabani prospect is considered to be the largest undrilled conventional oil and gas prospect onshore Africa and could host prospective resources of about 9,25 trillion cubic feet and 294 million barrels of gas condensate.

“If we do make a commercial discovery then it will definitely have a huge positive impact in the community with the development of the project,” he said, adding opportunities would entail construction jobs for the facility and pipeline as well production roles.

The company is also focused on providing water, education and health initiatives, which have been guided by the local community input gathered when it undertook its environmental impact assessment study.

The local leadership told this publication during a recent visit to the area that they expected Invictus to prioritise locals in recruitment for jobs, especially those that do not demand skilled expertise, and for the company to invest in key infrastructure like dams, roads and bridges, education and health facilities.

“We did not like to be like an NGO (non-governmental organisation) that goes in with prescriptive programmes, but actually (wanted to) understand what the community really needs,” MacMillan said in an interview.

Additionally, MacMillan said commercial discovery of oil/gas in Muzarabani would bring about significant downstream benefits through indirect downstream industries and new jobs.

At national scale, success in the exploration programme would result in significant royalties, taxes and production or profit share for the Government, which would spur development in the country.

Invictus Energy has already recorded significant milestones and encouraging study findings since acquiring and further processing a US$30 million data set from French petroleum giant Mobil, which was gathered back in the mid 1990s.

The study by Invictus is only the second in more than 30 years since the one by Mobil, which was at a reconnaissance scale in terms of line spacing (15-20 kilometres) apart from looking at the basin configuration.

“Our spacing is 1,5 km apart and designed to identify specific drilling targets. Our survey was done with vibroseis units as the source whereas Mobil used dynamite, (this is) first survey since 1990 and technology has moved considerably since then,” MacMillan said.

Key milestones the company has recorded thus far include a petroleum exploration development and production agreement (PEDPA) signed with the Government.

President Mnangagwa said at the signing ceremony that the PEDPA represented major strides in Zimbabwe’s efforts to tap into its oil and gas deposits, which is a new territory in the country’s mining sector.’

Invictus also managed to renew its Muzarabani special grant licence by a further 3 years and has completed an environmental impact study.

Further, Invictus has also signed a drilling contract with British firm Cluff Energy and inked drilling rig agreement with Exalo, agreements which have seen it remain on course to meet its target of commencing drilling in the first half this year.

“We are gearing up for the drilling programme now and the long leads (wellheads and casing) have been manufactured and getting ready to be shipped to our warehouse outside Harare over the next few months and then to the field once everything is ready and the rig is on its way,” he said.

MacMillan said the company would possibly start receiving the key equipment for the exploration drilling programme at the end of next month, with the test well sinking planned before the end of the first half of this year.

The local leadership told this publication during a visit to the area that they expected the project to prioritise residents on non-skilled jobs and to help develop key infrastructure.

“Jobs should be made available first to locals while other development projects should come through as a result of this initiative. We welcome this project, but we also have a lot of aspirations.

“We must not repeat what happened in Chiadzwa where people from other places were first to benefit (diamond rush), and go away to develop and build nice houses in plush suburbs like Borrowdale in Harare,” said Chief Muzarabani.

According to Chief Hwata, whose chiefdom also borders the project area “The project should develop the area, we expect to get better residential houses, roads and bridges among other things. This project must succeed and we can see it is making good progress,” he said.

Business Weekly

Persistent heavy downpours in and around Hwange have disrupted coal mining in the area, resulting in failure by local mines to meet Hwange Power Station’s monthly demand of 90 000 tonnes required for power generation, an official said on Friday.

Most of the country’s coal supplies comes from Hwange, and several companies are involved in the commodity’s extraction.

The bulk of the output is used in thermal power generation at Hwange Power Station, and only a limited amount is exported.

In an interview, Zambezi Gas and Coal operations manager, Menard Makota said heavy rains pouring persistently in the region had affected mining operations, resulting in cut backs in production.

Some of the mines flooded, forcing the companies to invest in water pumps to be able to pump out the water from underground.

As a result, Makota said mining companies were not able to meet Hwange Power Station’s coal demand of 9 000 tonnes per month.

“This year we received more than normal rainfall. We once recorded 90 millimeters of rain in three hrs, meaning the rain was very heavy,” he said.

“In the past four months, we have purchased water pumps for about US$300 000 which will be used to pump out the water. Our men in the pits are working tirelessly so that we do not have any problems emanating from the rain,” he said.

New Ziana

ARTISANAL miners have been warned to stop mining activities during the rainy season to avoid possible mine collapses because of the wet ground.

“The rains have made mining shafts and pillars in unregulated mining operations weak, hence putting the lives of miners at risk. We would like to urge those in the small-scale and artisanal mining sectors to at least halt their operations temporarily until the rains have subsided.  This is one of the most dangerous seasons for small-scale and artisanal miners as we have seen lives being lost during this season,” the Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Mineral Workers Union (Zidamwu) secretary-general Justice Chinhema said.

“Most small-scale miners have not invested in developing their mines and putting in place some safety measures thereby putting lives at risk. As a union we take note of the message coming from the Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) encouraging small-scale and artisanal miners to put safety first.”

ZMF recently said efforts were underway to raise awareness among small-scale miners against going under-ground as various parts of the country continued to receive high rains.

Chinhema said small-scale and artisanal miners were the major contributors to the gold mining sector in the country, hence the need for their formalisation and provision of equipment support.

“Worldwide economies are sustained through formalising small-scale and artisanal mining.  We want to see the government bringing together all players including small-scale and artisanal miners in efforts to eradicate illegal mining and reduce accidents,” he said.

In 2020, six miners were trapped in a mine shaft at Matshetshe Mine in Esigodini due to weak soils caused by the rains, while several other incidents of mine collapse were recorded throughout the country last year.

Newsday

Mangwana Opportunities Fund has agreed to increase its investment in Invictus Energy by way of a private placement for A$500 000, a development seen as strategic as this increases Zimbabwean ownership in the Australian listed company.

The fund is managed by Mangwana Capital and has Zimbabwe’s institutional investors including State-owned and private pension funds. It invests mainly in agriculture, natural resources, and tourism.

Managing director, Scott Macmillan said, “Mangwana’s increased stake in Invictus adds significant local ownership weight to the company and aligns well with the company’s commitment to in-country investor, community and government stakeholders, among others.”

Invictus Energy has also completed a capital raising programme to support its flagship Cabora Bassa project in Zimbabwe as the company raised a total of A$8 million from its placement and share purchase plan (SPP).

The SPP was oversubscribed, raising A$4 million although the company was originally targeting to raise $2 million after opting to accommodate as many shareholders as possible.

Just under four million shares will be issued under the SPP at a price of A10 cents each.

All SPP applicants will receive a one-for-two free attaching option with an exercise price of 14 cents and expiring in January 2025. The other A$4 million was raised from the placement.

Five million shares and 2,5 million options will be issued to Mangwana under the same terms as the SPP. The shares will be escrowed for a period of three months from the date of issue.

The funds from the capital raising will be used to fund initiatives to develop the company’s flagship Cahora Bassa project in Zimbabwe.

This includes payment of the rig mobilisation fee, purchase of long lead items, finalisation of the CB21 Seismic Survey data processing, and general working capital.

Managing Director Scott Macmillan said the company is in a solid position.

“Invictus is in a strong position ahead of its planned May drilling campaign thanks to an excellent show of support from retail investors and recent SPP participants, which allowed the company to double its targeted raise ahead of launching key pre-drilling initiatives in coming weeks,” he said.

The SPP and placement funding will help with drilling costs of Muzarabani-1. Besides, Invictus has identified significant potential for the Cahora Bassa Project and drilling of the world-class Muzarabani prospect is anticipated to commence in May.

Business Weekly