Mining ZimbabweLatest Mining News, Policy and Industry Updates

Premier African Minerals chairperson Neil Herbert has resigned from the board with immediate effect.

Herbert, who joined the company as non-executive chairperson in 2020, has left the board to pursue other business interests including his recent appointment as executive chairperson of Atlantic.

“Herbert rejoined the Premier board at a critical time in the rejuvenation of the company and I express my thanks and appreciation for this,” Premier chief executive officer George Roach said in a statement last week.

“Herbert leaves the board to pursue his other business interests including his recent appointment as executive chairman of Atlantic Lithium. I have agreed to act for a limited period as the interim chairman,” he said.

Roach said Premier was in consultation with eligible candidates and would announce further corporate changes in the near future.

Herbert left the company after it had just signed a joint venture agreement with Li3 Resources Inc to acquire 50% interest in Premier’s lithium assets located in Mutare.

The London Stock Exchange-listed resource group acquired the claims located in the Mutare Greenstone Belt in 2020 and were held by the company’s subsidiary LicoMex Private Limited.

Li3 Resources is a private lithium-focused exploration company founded and backed by senior mining executives who have had prior success in the lithium sector.

Herbert was appointed director of the company on August 28, 2019.

He has nearly three decades experience in finance. He trained with PwC and has been involved in growing mining ventures, both as an executive (including Antofagasta plc, Brancote Holdings plc and UraMin Inc) and as a manager of investments (including Galahad Gold plc and Polo Resources Limited).

Herbert has served as a director of several stock exchange-listed companies across the world and was previously a director of Premier between August 20, 2013 and April 22, 2016.

He is also chairperson of IronRidge Resources, Helium One, Siderian Resource Capital and is the acting chairperson of MN Holding Limited and its subsidiaries which operate Otjozondu.

Premier is a multi-commodity mining and natural resource development company focused on southern Africa with its RHA Tungsten and Zulu Lithium projects in Zimbabwe.

The company has a diverse portfolio of projects, which include tungsten, rare earth
elements, lithium and tantalum.

Newsday

Tharisa, the South African company developing a platinum mine in Zimbabwe, plans to sell US$50 million of bonds on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange to help finance the project.

The miner last month announced a US$250 million first phase investment in Karo mine, expected to begin development later this year.

“While the financing solution for the development of the Karo Platinum project is well advanced, Karo Platinum is seeking to tap the capital markets in Zimbabwe to part finance this impactful development,” Ilja Graulich, Tharisa’s head of investor relations, said Wednesday.

The miner plans to offer the bond by the second half of this year. It would be the first debt listing on the exchange.

The bourse in Victoria Falls opened in October 2020. It has just four listings: SeedCo, Caledonia Mining Corporation, Bindura Nickel Corporation, and Padenga Holdings. Known as VFEX, it offers tax exemptions on capital gains and promises investors the ability to repatriate funds from a country where foreign exchange is typically in short supply.

A VFEX-listed exporter is allowed to keep 100% of what they earn from any incremental output above its monthly average.

Tharisa’s planned sale adds to similar proposals by the government to begin trading debt on the VFEX, said Justin Bgoni, the chief executive officer of the exchange.

“It will allow a creation of a yield curve on VFEX, provide alternative investment and more importantly show that VFEX is a credible capital raising platform,” he said.

Zimbabwe’s Great Dyke holds the world’s second-largest PGM deposits, and gives producers the lowest-cost platinum and good skills, Tharisa CEO CEO Phoevos Pouroulis said in April as he announced development plans for Karo.

Karo will produce 150,000 ounces of platinum group metals in its first phase and will have a 20-year life. It joins other mines on the Great Dyke. Zimplats produces 580,000 ounces per year, Unki 190,000 ounces and Mimosa 120,000 ounces. Great Dyke Investments’ delayed Darwendale project will, on completion, be the largest producer, at 860,000oz per year.

Bloomberg (additional reporting by newZWire)

Listed diversified group, Padenga Holdings Limited’s revenue grew 10% to US$78.5m in the reviewed period from US$71.6m achieved in the previous year on the positive performance in the gold mining division.

The uptick in revenue comes when the crocodile and the alligator businesses faced reduced demand and changing market dynamics.
Padenga recently acquired a controlling stake in Dallaglio group, which contributed 66% to the total revenue while Zimbabwe crocodiles contributed 31%. Texas alligators contributed 3%.

“Solid group revenue performance was largely driven by exceptional contribution from the mining operations. This follows the on-line commissioning of the new Eureka Gold Mine in Guruve in October 2021. The
Eureka Gold Mine achieved its plant nameplate capacity seven weeks earlier than forecast on November 25, 2021,
” board chairman, Thembinkosi Sibanda said.

The mining division made an operating profit of US$8.4m. There was a 43% increase in operating costs and the mining business generated positive cash flows of US$10.1m from its operations that contributed to working capital relief.

“Gold volumes for the Dallaglio group are therefore anticipated to increase 25% during 2022 with a concomitant 20% reduction in the all in sustaining costs per ounce produced . This will increase margins and
enhance profitability. Eureka produced 976kgs which was an improvement from 722kgs in the prior year, ” Sibanda said.

He said the mining sector picked up its pace in the second half of the year as Eureka made its successful commercial production volume in September 2021 following its official opening on October 21, 2021 by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Despite growth in revenue, Padenga, however, plunged into a US$7.4m loss from a profit of US$3.2m achieved in the previous year.
Total assets stood at US$169.8m from US$151m in 2020.

Business Times

RE: GEMSTONES/SEMI- PRECIOUS STONE MINERS/STONE ART/ TRADERS/JEWELLERS DATA BASE.

Reference to the above as well as our previous notice of 28/01/22, May all those who are in the gemstones and semi-precious stones sector provide the following details for data capture as soon as possible, closing date is 06/05/22 at 17: 00 hrs.

1. Full names

2. Mineral mined

3. Business (e.g. trader/jeweler/miner/stone art etc.)

4. Mine registration status (e.g. certificate no./application pending /covered by EPO/reservation

5. Contact details

6. Any requirement/support (e.g. finance $$$/equipment details/ markets/etc.

7. Area or province

Kindly forward the information to the undersigned through WhatsApp or via email below.

The information is to enable an efficient service to your specific businesses as well as for programs to be rolled out soon.

May you kindly share this with those not accessible on whats-app

Yours faithfully
MR PRIVELAGE C. MOYO
Secretary for semi-precious and gemstones
WhatsApp +263 772 936 110
Email: [email protected]

MINES and Mining Development Minister, Winston Chitando, is set to officially commission a Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) project at Vumbachikwe Mine in Gwanda, Matabeleland South Province tomorrow.

The US$2,5 million initiative is expected to ensure sustainable mining operations for the next two decades, management said.

Already Vumbachikwe Mine has poured in significant investment towards the project, which will see the company taking the lead in environmentally friendly mining practices at a time when many companies the world over are being taken to task for environmental pollution in an increasingly climate conscious world.

“As a major player in our endeavour to put all hands on deck and create a US$12 billion gold mining industry for Zimbabwe by the year 2023 as espoused by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in the national vision, we ought to also keep an eye on our carbon footprint because we have to bequeath not only a wealthy nation but an environmentally safe nation for future generations,” said Vumbachikwe acting mine manager, Mr None Kananji.

“As a result, our stakeholders invested in this project to ensure that as we heed Government’s call for collective patriotic pursuit of a middle-income nation by the year 2030, we also don’t lose sight of the need to ensure the land from which we benefit is preserved.”

TSFs are one or more dams, which ensure that effluent from mining and extraction processes, which may contain slime and chemicals with potential to contaminate underground water and the environment, are stored safely.

In recent times, the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has been scaling up efforts to make mining companies comply with waste management regulations.

The minister’s imminent visit is, therefore, seen as an endorsement of the proactive move by Vumbachikwe as well as encouragement to similar operations to emulate the step taken by the mine, which is currently implementing a raft of measures to restructure and boost production by plugging production leaks and supporting national vision.

The Chronicle

LAWYERS representing scores of workers and their families who were recently evicted from Bindura-based Ran Mine were last week making frantic efforts to secure their return.

Ran Mine Private Limited, a gold asset that has been at the centre of a protracted dispute between Zimbabwean investors, lurched into fresh controversy after evicting the former workers saying they were retrenched and paid their packages about 20 years ago.

Lawyers estimated that 500 people were affected by the eviction.

Last month, new investors for the operation secured a High Court order to evict the workers.

In an interview with NewsDay Business, the workers’ lawyer Obey Shava of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said there was an appeal that was pending at the High Court before authorities moved in to execute the order.

“Before the granting of eviction order by the High Court, we made an appeal to the High Court and is still pending,” Shava said.

“We are still pursuing it, which is the status of the matter.  At the moment we are clueless if I am to tell the truth,” he said.

“We are trying to appeal to organisations and the public who can possibly assist but we haven’t found any relief so far since the eviction process took place,” he added.

There has been a wrangle over asset ownership since Blackgate Investments, led by businesswoman Angeline Munyeza, also claimed ownership of the rich goldfield.

Fighting over the asset reached  tipping point late last year when G&P Industries said it was pressing ahead to extract its first bullion at the mine in 22 years.

Blackgate warned that sinking shafts at the operation was illegal until government made a determination over ownership of the mine, which hit headlines in 2020, when 30 artisanal miners perished in flooded shafts.

Court documents indicate that on March 31, Munyeza escalated her battle to Chief Justice Luke Malaba, seeking his urgent intervention.

She has previously written to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development seeking resolution of the dispute.

The businesswoman has produced evidence that she also holds titles to the mine.

But around the time she approached the Chief Justice, her rivals were moving to evict former workers out of the mine compound.

Rights groups and the ruling Zanu PF party estimates show that up to 500 families have been affected by the evictions, although the court case lists 18 representatives of the former workers.

“Despite demand, it is alleged the 18 defendants refused to vacate the mine houses”, High Court papers said.

“The defendants (former workers) failed to discharge the onus upon them to show an entitlement to continue holding on to the houses”, the court papers added.

“The defendants and all persons claiming occupation through them and all other persons in use, possession and control of any part of the Ran Mine compound without the consent of Ran Mine shall forthwith vacate the compound,” the High Court ruled.

“Failing vacation, the Sheriff, with the assistance of the Zimbabwe Republic Police, if necessary, is authorised to eject the defendants and all persons claiming occupation through them and all other persons in use, possession and control of any part of the Ran Mine compound without consent of the plaintiff” the ruling said.

Newsday

A GROUP of people, who recently invaded Dandee 5 mine in Kezi, Matabeleland South, are reportedly threatening Kezi prosecutor Mufaro Ndirayire, who is handling the case.

The invaders, believed to be from Harare, overran the mine last month and the mine owner Ndodana Moyo has alleged that the invaders were being backed by a senior government official, whom he did not name.

Moyo told NewsDay that the invaders were threatening the prosecutor who is dealing with the case.

“On April 27, we were supposed to attend a court case in Kezi. On our arrival the prosecutor said she was being called by a certain individual who is threatening her, demanding that she must drop the case or get fired by her superiors. The invaders are also creating stories trying to get us arrested,” he claimed.

He also alleged that the invaders were heavily armed.

“We did not do anything or engage in any violence. They are the ones who were armed with machetes and axes.”

Ndirayire declined to comment on the matter saying she was not allowed to talk to the Press.

“You can check with my superiors, I am not allowed to talk to the Press,” she said.

The gang, armed with machetes, chased away Moyo’s mine workers when it invaded the mine.

THE Zimbabwe School of Mines (ZSM) is expected to play a leading role in the beneficiation and value addition of minerals as the country drives towards achieving a US$12 billion mining industry milestone by 2023, Mines and Mining Development Deputy Minister, Polite Kambamura, has said.

The Second Republic is pushing for value addition of the country’s natural resources including precious minerals for the country to benefit more from its resources.

As a mining training centre, Deputy Minister Kambamura, said ZSM should be well equipped to unlock more opportunities in the sector.

Speaking during handover of critical equipment in the Metallurgical Assaying Laboratory by Mimosa Mining Company last Thursday, Deputy Minister Kambamura said Vision 2030 demands that ZSM responds by providing skills, particularly in the emerging minerals being mined in Zimbabwe.

“Therefore, a fully equipped laboratory plays a critical role in training of human capital.

Furthermore, on servicing the industry the laboratory has also been very useful to the mining and related industries, providing services that include water analysis for EMA regulations compliance, gold, silver and base metals analysis, coal analysis and metallurgical tests works,” he said.

Zimbabwe School of Mines

Mimosa donated a range of equipment for the geological department that includes four geological microscopes equipment with a camera and digital connectivity to enable online sharing of thin section images by lecturers and students.

The metallurgy department was equipped with a single pot ring mill and machinery for sample analysis.

With the current expansion in the mining industry, Deputy Minister Kambamura said ZSM is expected to conduct test work in the new mining processing methods on emerging mineral such as base metals.

“We expect ZMS to match international standards by being assessed and successfully accredited by the Southern Africa Development Community Acceptation Services (SADCAS) on an ISO/EC17025:2005, which will demonstrate that it is technically competent and able to produce precise and accurate tests and analyses of minerals,” he said.

“Accreditation of this Metallurgical Laboratory requires this equipment in line with industry standardisation needs.”

However, ZSM cannot achieve its responsibilities alone as its needs partners with other players in the industry, said the Deputy Minister.

“The Government of Zimbabwe pleads with the mining industry sector to partner with technical institution of this nature in retooling laboratories,” he added.

“In line with the 2021-2025 Strategic Plan the Metallurgical Assay Laboratory has been infused as a strategic Business Development Unit, therefore donations of the equipment is perfectly suited in the grand strategy.”

The mining industry is a key pillar of Zimbabwe’s economy as it generates much of the needed foreign currency.

ZSM principal, Mr Edwin Gwaze, said since their laboratory was fully equipped, the training centre is now able to operate at a commercial level where both solid and liquid samples are processed.

He said the donation confirms Mimosa’s commitment to ensure that ZSM provides unrelenting quality services to the mining industry.

Over the years, Mimosa has made several donations, which include a 29-seater bus, assisted in training assets for the library and boulder for the mining museum.

Mimosa head of engineering, Mr Admire Makuvaro, said their support is intended to capacitate ZSM to continue producing quality graduates.

“As Mimosa we have responded to the needs of the Zimbabwe School of Mines through various developmental partnerships over the years and we remain committed to working with the institution as it develops and continue to improve its service to the mining industry,” he said.

“We urge the Zimbabwe School of Mines to make use of the equipment in line with the Governments vision for the institution to become a hub for experimentation and research in mining.”

The Chronicle