Mining ZimbabweLatest Mining News, Policy and Industry Updates

A 33-YEAR-OLD miner from Bulawayo allegedly stole 1 500 kg of gold ore from his employer.

Nkosilathi Ngoma of Village A Hope Fountain, employed by Carry Mine Company, allegedly used a donkey-drawn scotch cart to transport the gold ore to Funglum Mine milling site.

The offence came to light when Mr David Ndlovu (58), a security guard at the mine, received a tip-off indicating that Ngoma had stolen gold ore.

Mr Ndlovu and two colleagues, Mgcini Ndlovu and Kith Ncube, rushed to Funglum Mine before Ngoma arrived and lay an ambush.

The security guard caught up with Ngoma as he arrived at the milling site.

Mr Ndlovu asked the accused person where he got the gold ore and he failed to answer leading to his arrest.

The security guard positively identified the gold ore.

Ngoma pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of theft when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Ms Rachel Mukanga.

However, he said he only took half a tonne of gold ore not 1,5 tonnes.

Ms Mukanga said the court will not accept an incomplete plea and she remanded him in custody to May 11.

The prosecutor, Ms Ashley Dube said on April 24 at unknown time at Carry Mine, the complainant received information from Bhekimpilo Moyo indicating that the accused person had stolen gold ore at the mine shaft and was ferrying it to Funglum Mine in a scotch cart.

“The complainant teamed up with two other colleagues, trapped and caught the accused person before he offloaded the ore at the milling site,” said Ms Dube.

The gold ore stolen weighs 1,5 tonnes and all was recovered. The value will be ascertained by an assayer and will be produced in court as exhibit.

The Chronicle

ZIMBABWE’S mining industry says chrome sector growth continues to be undermined by poor prices offered by buyers.

Ferrochrome exports form a significant part of minerals that Zimbabwe trades on the international markets every year.

Although the country is targeting to transform its mining industry to a US$12 billion sector by 2023, the sector currently generates about US$2 billion per annum, with chrome exports contributing US$15 million.

Other key minerals produced in Zimbabwe include gold, platinum and diamonds.

Zimbabwe Miners Federation spokesperson Dosman Mangisi on Monday said chrome ore under-pricing and international trade disruptions triggered by COVID-19 had become the biggest threat to miners.

“The current state of chrome is a bit down due to a number of issues, mainly pricing and COVID-19,” Mangisi said.

“The sector is losing potential revenue due to a lot of agents on the ground and under-pricing. Prices offered by the Chinese (who have emerged as the biggest market in the past decade) are very low. Chrome miners are suffering, particularly small-scale miners,” Mangisi added.

“I cannot say we have a ready market. The current buyers are failing to absorb what is on offer. The prices are trending at US$60 and US$80 per tonne depending on the grades,” he said.

This is far below the prevailing prices on the international markets.

In 2015, government reversed a ban on chrome ore exports that had been introduced in 2011 in an effort to force miners to value-add the mineral before shipping it out.

Zimbabwe has the world’s second-largest high-grade chromium ore deposits of approximately 10 billion tonnes, around 12% of global reserves, according to the Mines and Mining Development ministry.

These reserves are only second to South Africa.

But the chrome-rich nation produced just 866 000 tonnes of chrome ore in 2019, accounting for only 2,5% of global output, according to the International Chromium Development Association.

NewsDay

Approximately 70 percent of the engineering procurement and construction (EPC) scope for the Arcadia lithium project pilot plant has been completed, developer Prospect Resources has revealed.

The smaller, commercial scale plant represents a shorter and low risk pathway to near term production of lithium from the Arcadia while demonstrating capacity to investors.

Prospect has already signed offtake agreements with some buyers, including one of the world’s largest suppliers of specialty minerals Sibelco, for its petalite product.

Successful completion of the pilot plant will allow the company to start fulfilling global orders. All of the firm’s production for the first seven years is covered by offtake orders.

Initially, Prospect said it would build a larger pilot plant for both petalite (technical) and spodumene (chemical) lithium, but will now build a technical grade lithium plant first.

Petalite, as a proportion of the Arcadia mineral endowment is significant and increasing its recovery and global sales is an important strategic objective as the project progresses.

Arcadia, 38 kilometres east of the Capital Harare is set to become Zimbabwe’s largest and second active lithium mine, with capacity to produce both technical and chemical grade products.

Lithium is an integral element of the Government’s plans to grow mining to a US$12 billion industry by 2023 with lithium expected to contribute at least half a billion dollars by that time.

Mining is the main anchor of Zimbabwe’s foreign currency generation capacity, accounting for circa 60 percent (75 percent in 2020) of total annual foreign currency inflows.

The Australia Stock Exchange (ASX) listed company said its flagship project remained on schedule to achieve the first shipment of high purity petalite by the end of the second quarter of 2021.

Planned progress in design, procurement and construction of the Pilot Plant includes the 100 percent flowsheet and detailed engineering design, which have since been completed.

Also 100 percent of the procurement completed for (Dense Media Separation (DMS) unit and crushing modules delivered) while 90 percent of non-process infrastructure completed.

Earlier, Prospect said the DMS flow sheet for the pilot plant had been proved to offer greater technical certainty than the flotation flowsheet, which entails spodumene production.

The company said in a statement that modular equipment pre-assembly is 75 percent done, 25 percent of factory acceptance tests have been done for DMS while crushing modules and set up of power supply systems is 75 percent complete.

Additionally, Prospect said 75 percent of mining contractor mobilisation had been achieved while 50 percent earthworks and civils completed at the project site east of Harare.

Further, key upcoming milestones include making site power operational, mining blast and mining contractor mobilisation, crushing circuit and DMS module commissioning;

The company said it was also looking at commencement of production and transportation to port logistical arrangements and attaining the first shipment of high purity petalite products.

Prospect managing director Sam Hosack said they were pleased that the development of the lithium pilot plant remained on time and on budget, with the company also on course to ship high purity petalite by the end of June this year.

“The pilot plan forms a critical part of our project development and market integration strategies and we look forward to providing key customers with high-value petalite product to complete their qualification requirements.

“Prospect is generating spodumene samples via an experienced third party laboratory, as downstream lithium chemical customers only require 2kg spodumene samples to qualify,” he said.

Arcadia represents a globally significant hard rock lithium resource and is being rapidly developed by Prospect’s team, focusing on near term production of high purity petalite and spodumene concentrates.

The Arcadia mine is one of the most advanced lithium projects globally, with a Definitive Feasibility Study, offtake partners secured and a clear pathway to production.

Business Weekly

A mining firm based in Hwange has become the latest to be hit by the ravaging Covid-19 pandemic after 25 employees tested positive, the Ministry of Health and Child Care said on Saturday.

The cases, accounted for the 46 new cases that Zimbabwe recorded in the past two days, to take the country’s overall tally of confirmed infection cases to 38 064.

“The 18 cases from Matabeleland North are all from a mining company in Hwange and the outbreak is localised,” the health ministry said, without identifying the firm.

Amid fears of a potential third wave, the country has in the past two weeks seen a trend of institutions, especially schools recording high cases of infections.

Most of the cases have however been mild and were immediately contained.

The new cases come as President Emmerson Mnangagwa has appealed to schools and businesses to continue following laid down Covid-19 protocols to avoid the spread of the virus.

Government last month re-opened the economy after a hard lockdown that was aimed at containing the spread of the killer respiratory disease, which has since last March claimed 1 556 lives.

Mining companies were however not affected by the lockdown as they were designated essential services and were allowed to continue operating.

Zimbabwe is already undertaking a Covid-19 vaccination programme since mid-February and slightly over 300 000 have so far been inoculated.

New Ziana

LAST month, the government signed the Petroleum Exploration Development and Production Agreement (PEDPA) with Invictus Energy, which has been exploring for oil and gas reserves in Muzarabani, Mashonaland Central province.

The agreement marked an important step towards the sinking of the first test wells to see what exactly lies underground.

But something was amiss.

Both parties surely know the right thing to do, and if they forgot that resource exploitation issues require high levels of transparency, we take this opportunity to remind them. Invictus, the Australian miners, who are undertaking the exploration, are bound by transparency regulations as demanded by the Australian Stock Exchange where it is listed, while the Zimbabwean government knows that it must take everyone on board to avoid lack of stakeholder buy-in as this important deal progresses.

But none of the parties took the important step of disclosing exactly what they agreed on and what’s in it for the people of Zimbabwe, especially villagers in Muzarabani.

This is potentially a spot of potential conflict between government and the community, and the community and Invictus if the agreement is not made public.

Invictus has already indicated that the claims that oil or gas, to the extent never seen on the continent before, could be lying untapped underneath the earth’s crust and the people are waiting with bated breath.

That is why it is important for this agreement to be publicised and even provided to people in Muzarabani in print to apprise villagers on what government is planning about the resource, and how they stand to benefit.

Anything short of this would not be good enough.

It will be another way of government telling Zimbabweans that what lies underneath the earth’s crust is not theirs, but a preserve of the elite.

Zimbabweans need no reminding about what happens when people are excluded from participating in the exploitation of natural resources found in their localities.

The bloodshed that took place at Marange diamond fields is one such example, and the ongoing tug-of-war between police and gold panners is yet another.

The last thing Zimbabweans expect is to wake up one morning to witness oil oozing out and be told that it has already been mortgaged. We urge government to do the right thing, which is exercising transparency. Even if it is not found, the people must be fully informed to understand that there is nothing to expect from Muzarabani.