Mining ZimbabweLatest Mining News, Policy and Industry Updates

PARLIAMENTARY Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development chairperson, Mr Edmund Mkaratigwa has said the draft Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill should be tabled in the legislative assembly during the first session of Parliament.

He said the Bill should be among the key priorities during this session of Parliament.

This comes as the sector is currently being governed by the Mines and Minerals Act of 1961, which has been described by stakeholders as archaic.

Since it was crafted over five decades ago, the current Act is reportedly creating a lot of confusion in the mining sector which stakeholders believe will be eradicated if the new bill is passed into law.

“The draft Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill should be among the key priorities in this session of Parliament and in this Government year.

“It has been placed among the key enablers of the 2022 Budget targets and the national vision for the upper middle-income economy,” said Mr Mkaratigwa in an interview yesterday.

He said the draft Bill still has to pass through the “hall of critics before it goes to the hall of fame”.

In that respect, Mr Mkaratigwa said all that is currently in it is not guaranteed to remain as consultations with stakeholders will seal what would be upheld as part of the sectoral legislative framework for our country.

“Naturally, where it included compelling mining companies to make their production and revenues a public record and also to enable both the state and citizens to monitor, curb mineral leakages and illicit financial flows, it aids accountability but the main issue is whether that should be part of the Act or the strategy,” he said.

Mr Mkaratigwa said the current spirit of the draft Bill is to have the best law for Zimbabwe, that strikes a balance and answers key questions by stakeholders.

“His Excellency the President had noted that new issues were introduced not necessarily that he was against it, but that he needed to give it more attention and adequate scrutiny,”

Mr Mkaratigwa said, adding the Executive wants sanity in the mining sector.

“The Executive should be at the forefront in advancing sectoral institutional and practice reforms being reinforced through the bill. Parliament is willing, the broader society is willing, the Executive is willing; and that means, the intention and spirit of the Bill cannot be delayed any further.”

The Chronicle

WOMEN mining in Matabeleland South Province want a bigger slice of the cake and are seeking small-scale mining claims in gold rich areas across the province.

Gwanda District sits on the Greenstone gold belt which hosts notable gold producers including Blanket, Vubachikwe, Jersey, Freda and Horn mines.

Women in mining believe mining claims in richer areas will improve the scope of their work, spur their growth and increase their returns in general.

Speaking during an engagement meeting with women in production in Gwanda last week, Mthandazo Women Miners Association chairperson Ms Sithembile Ndlovu said their current claims were not yielding much.

“We want rich claims where we can realise significant gains. We also want our families and the country as a whole to prosper. We recently pegged at areas that were giving us 50g of gold ore or less yet richer areas are available.

We’re failing to get access to rich mining claims and it would seem men are going ahead of us in this regard. We don’t know how the men are doing it but they’re getting the claims,” said Ms Ndlovu.

She said various income streams were funding their operations.

“We’ve been getting loans through the Ministry of Women Affairs (Community, Small and Medium Enterprise Development) to fund our operations. Through the assistance of the ministry, we continue to grow.

Mthandazo is now sustainable as we speak. We have students on attachment coming from universities for procurement at Mthandazo because there’s money from investors that needs to be accounted for. Some of us did not study accounting but through these students who are doing accounting, we’re able to keep our books in order.”

Ms Ndlovu, who is also the Zimbabwe Miners Federation Matabeleland South Chapter Women Affairs Secretary encouraged more women to join the mining industry.

“As it stands, I was the only woman who contested in the ZMF Matabeleland South chapter elections. Women don’t realise the potential they have to contribute towards the prosperity of the country. We also need agents in our districts to help the miners so that they’re not burdened by the work.

Women used to be scared to approach the Ministry of Mines (and Mining Development) but through various engagements, we’re now being assisted.”

Ms Ndlovu bemoaned the violence and gangsterism in some mining areas in the province.

“We’re now scared of being attacked and appeal to the relevant authorities to assist us so that we feel secure. Moving around with as little as 10g of gold ore is now dangerous as it is still worth a lot of money that someone would want to steal from you,” she said.

Illegal gold miners have sprouted all over the province as they seek the precious metal.

Mineral output is a source of foreign currency and mining is a source of employment for many.

However, illegal gold miners have left a trail of destruction in some communities while in other areas, crime rates have risen because of the influx of illegal gold miners.

The Chronicle

Holcim could sell its Zimbabwe unit, Lafarge, as part of the world’s largest cement company continuing sell-off of assets globally.

Lafarge Zimbabwe is one of the country’s biggest cement companies, and has been increasing investment to take advantage of rising cement demand. But it could become part of Holcim’s global consolidation strategy.

“We are constantly evaluating possibilities to align our portfolio with this vision to open new growth opportunities for our company,” a Holcim spokesman told Bloomberg. He would not comment on “market rumours” that the Zimbabwe unit may be among the units being sold off.

A likely buyer is Huaxin Cement, one of China’s biggest cement companies. Huaxin bought Lafarge Zambia and Lafarge Cement Malawi late last year. In June, Huaxin bought 75% of Lafarge Zambia for US$150 million and spent US$10 million to buy Pan African Cement from Lafarge Cement Malawi. In 2020, Huaxin bought Tanzania’s Marvini Limestone for US$145 million, its first investment in Africa.

Last year, Holcim sold part of its Ghana business and disposed of its Brazil unit for US$1 billion.

In Zimbabwe, the past year has been one of contrasts for the cement company.

Increased construction inspired the company to lay out a US$25 million expansion plan to meet growing demand for building materials. But the company also faced rising costs, the surprise departure of its CEO and a plant accident that has stopped cement production for a quarter.

In September, CEO Precious Nyika stepped down after the company took a fine of the equivalent of US$1 million for exchange control violations. She had been in the job for just over a year. Geoffrey Ndugwa, who has been with the company since he joined it in 2001, replaced Nyika in December.

Ndugwa’s last job was CEO of Lafarge Malawi, which was sold to Huaxin. He declined to comment on speculation about a sale.

A roof collapse at Lafarge’s Manresa mills has stopped production since October, and the company has issued a warning that sales will be seriously hit.

In April, Lafarge commissioned a new US$2.8m dry mortar plant. The new plant has sharply increased output of dry mortar products – such as adhesives and agricultural lime – from just 7,000 tonnes per year to 100,000 tonnes annually, equal to national demand.

Lafarge also announced plans to use output from the new plant to launch 3D-printed low-cost housing, which would be a first for Zimbabwe.

The company has also started construction of a separate Vertical Cement Mill plant, which will more than double Lafarge’s annual cement milling capacity from the current 450,000 tonnes to one million tonnes. Completion is expected in the first half of the year.

Bloomberg/newZWire

CHINESE mining company, Edsabri (Private) Limited, has been fined $520 000 by the Environmental Management Agency (Ema) for conducting gold mining activities at the Inyorka ranch in Matobo district, Matabeleland South province  without an environmental impact assessment certificate.

Ema provincial manager Decent Ndlovu confirmed the development yesterday, adding that the miner had been ordered to cease operations.

“We issued them with a $500 000 ticket for illegal mining and $20 000 for illegal prospecting and also ordered them to stop all their activities. But we were being told by the ranch owner that they continued to mine.

“So we today (yesterday) sent our officers with the police to a open docket against them if they continued mining,” Ndlovu said.

The ranch owner Philip Mpofu accused the Chinese miner of causing environmental damage.

Matobo Rural District Council chief executive officer Elvis Sibanda said he was not aware of the matter, adding that he didn’t know of the presence of a Chinese mining company in the district.

“I don’t have any information about that mining company. I will have to verify it. I only heard about it on social media today (yesterday) in the morning,” he said.

According to sources, the Chinese miner claimed to have been granted special mining rights by government to do riverbed mining, which is banned locally.

Of late, Chinese miners throughout the country have been accused of causing environmental damage and violating human and labour rights, including displacing villagers in communities they are operating.

NewsDay

AUSTRALIA’S Invictus Energy has raised A$8mn ($5.7mn) to support the development of the Cabora Bassa project in Zimbabwe, it said on January 25.

A total of A$8m was raised comprising of A$4mn via a placement and A$4mn via a share purchase plan (SPP). “Due to overwhelming demand and to accommodate as many eligible shareholders as possible, the SPP was doubled from A$2mn to A$4mn,” Invictus said.

The proceeds from the placement will be used to fund a range of initiatives to further develop the Cabora Bassa project. Invictus will use the proceeds to pay for the rig mobilisation fee, purchase of long-lead items for the planned 2-well drilling programme and finalisation of the data processing of CB21 seismic survey.

The Cabora Bassa project comprises the Muzarabani and Msasa gas and condensate prospects, which Invictus describes as “world-class multi-trillion ft3” plays. The project received environmental approval from Zimbabwean authorities in August 2020.

CHINESE authorities have aggressively waded into the standoff between Beijing’s companies operating in Zimbabwe and the “superfluous” non-governmental organisations, boasting that without the world power’s investments, Harare would be “candle lit” and struggling without internet.

China has emerged as the biggest source of investment into Zimbabwe since Harare’s diplomatic tiff with Western powers two decades ago, which led to a damaging embargo, whose cost to the economy has been estimated at about US$100 billion.

Despite injections of at least US$2,5 billion, Chinese multinationals have had a frustrating time in Zimbabwe, where they face accusations spanning from labour and human rights violations to environmental degradation, tax evasion and foreign currency externalisation.

Beijing has rebuffed the claims.

Other reports have slammed Chinese investors for digging up graves and decimating ecologically sensitive forests in an accelerated exploration of minerals in Zimbabwe.

The Chinese embassy said the “dubious” NGOs’ combative claim “stinks of a hideous agenda from groups that make a living from political advocacy”.

It said they had ignored China’s huge investments, which propped up Harare’s faltering economy.

“Were it not for China’s funding support and the work of Chinese companies in ICT and power generation, even the statement in question would perhaps have to be scribbled on a piece of paper, in a candle-lit room, and never find its way on a functioning internet,” Chinese diplomats in a statement.

“How can a few unsubstantiated stories be used to negate China’s real, enormous contribution to the development of Zimbabwe…and the improvement of the wellbeing of ordinary citizens?” the embassy said.

The embassy claimed that NGOs’ work pale into insignificance compared to 100 000 Zimbabweans employed by Chinese companies.

“Suffice to say that they are significantly outnumbered by the Zimbabwean employees working in companies established with Chinese investment and outnumbered by the ordinary Zimbabwean citizens who are benefiting from China-Zimbabwe cooperation…Chinese State-owned and private businesses have been making great contribution to the improvement of local people’s livelihoods.”

“Dragging Chinese investors into political sideshows or making them victims of domestic political vendettas hurts the people of Zimbabwe and the development of the country as a whole. It is a way of extending sanctions by trying to force Chinese investment out of the country to make Zimbabwe more vulnerable. What is most sad about the statement is that it ignores the wolf in the room that is truly threatening the lives of local people. That is the sanctions,” added the embassy.

On Sunday, the Chamber of Chinese Enterprises in Zimbabwe (CCEZ) also attacked the NGOs.

In a statement, the CCEZ, which represents some of the world’s biggest corporations, came close to admitting serious transgressions by its members, but quickly reminded the NGOs that “it is not within our space to correct perceived legal gaps or inadequacies in laws’ in the country.

“We strongly deplore and oppose groundless accusations that are malicious and driven by falsehoods,” the CCEZ hit back. “Our member companies employ more than 100 000 local people throughout different sectors, worth billions in US dollars of investment. We have done this heeding the clarion call that “Zimbabwe in Open for Business” and in line with Zimbabwe’s aspirational targets such as achieving a US$12 billion mining economy by 2023 and Vision 2030 of achieving, and upper middle-income economy by 2030.

“Instead of engaging in microphone diplomacy and manipulation of public opinion, anyone or any civil society can resort to legal means if any of our member companies does anything illegal.

“People, who engage in microphone diplomacy, always have their clandestine political agendas,” said the CCEZ.

NewsDay