Mining ZimbabweLatest Mining News, Policy and Industry Updates

KUSENA villagers in Marange, who last week had resisted an order by the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) to temporarily vacate their homes so that the diamond miner can engage in exploration activities finally capitulated.

Bocha Diamond Community Trust board member Takura Betera yesterday told NewsDay that most of the affected families are set to lose their land after the exploration exercise.

“The ZCDC approached us saying it wanted to do exploration activities, including blasting activities, near our homes.  It had a meeting with our traditional leaders last Wednesday, and as villagers, we also held our own meeting last Thursday,” Betera said.

“They told us to camp at Kusena Primary School on the day that they will be performing their exploration activities. Our response was that it was not proper for them to force us to camp at a school during this COVID-19 era,” he said.

Betera said most of the villagers were set to lose their land due to ZCDC exploration activities.

“Most families are going to lose their agricultural land after the blasting activities. It would be impossible to grow plants on such land. ZCDC must explain to us how it is going to rehabilitate our land,” he said.

The villagers, who had resisted eviction, finally gave in on Friday after striking a compensation agreement for damages that might be caused by blasting activities.

ZCDC spokesperson Sugar Chagonda said the company engaged the villagers, adding that the process went on well.

“They (villagers) did not resist.  We carried out awareness campaigns, which is a requirement.  We cannot just take villagers by surprise.  Some of them have no understanding of what exactly is happening.  However, they later appreciated the process of exploration and it was a success,” Chagonda said.

NewsDay

CHINESE firm, Afrochine Smelting (Pvt) Ltd has filed a lawsuit against Earthlink Minerals (Pvt) Ltd for carrying out mining operations in Mavhuradonha Wilderness in Muzarabani district.

Afrochine cited Earthlink and Mines minister Winston Chitando, who it challenged to tell the court the truth regarding ownership of the controversial mining site.

The Zimbabwe chrome smelting giant has been accused of looting minerals from a protected area, damaging the main padlock at Mavuradonha Wilderness to gain entry and moving its excavators and other heavy machinery.

The Mavhuradonha Wilderness is a 600-square kilometre wildlife resort and has been maintained in its natural state since 1988 when the government designated it a protected area under the Communal Lands Act.

This ensured its protection from mining, agriculture and any other activities.

However, Afrochine has maintained that it is the rightful owner of the resort, but denied allegations of engaging in mining activities as reported.

The Chinese firm is seeking an order barring Earthlink from mining chrome in the wilderness and that it be declared the rightful owner of the claim.

Afrochine said Earthlink and Chitando should clarify that the mining company did not carry out any mining operations.

The company said it only discovered that Earthlink was mining on its claim on July 24 this year.

The mining company said EarthLink’s actions impacted negatively on the environment as well as on their reputation as the media widely reported that Afrochine was responsible for the damage.

In his founding affidavit filed on behalf of the company, Qedisani Mlambo said Afrochine was still assessing the impact of mining on the environment.

“What is disturbing to the applicant is that the respondent purported to be Afrochine Smelting and they gained access to the wilderness reserve without proper consultation with the local leadership,” Mlambo said.

He accused Earthlink of causing serious environmental degradation and disturbing wildlife.

“This is a clear case of mistaken identity where Earthlink’s actions are attributed to the applicant because the mining location in question is owned by the applicant.”

Mlambo complained that Earthlink had apparently done nothing to dissociate itself from the applicant when allegations of unsustainable and harmful mining arose.

Afrochine says it has a legal right to chrome in the location and the actions of the respondents are prejudicial to the company’s legitimate mining rights and business in general.

NewsDay

ZIMBABWE’S largest platinum group metals (PGMs) producer, Zimplats says its six elements (6E) output improved by 12 percent to 153 643 ounces in the quarter ended June 30, 2021 from 137 093 the previous quarter.

The 6E are platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and gold.

In a trading update for the quarter ended June 30, 2021, Zimplats said:

“6E metal production in final product increased by 12 percent from the third quarter due to the combination of higher throughput and increased process recoveries.”

It said 6E metal production in final product declined by five percent from the prior June quarter when volumes benefitted from both the treatment of furnace reverts stockpiled during the furnace rebuild and higher 6E head grade and recoveries.

Ore mined increased by two percent from the prior quarter due to the increase in operating days and improved productivity from the teams redeployed to other mines following the precautionary closure of Ngwarati Mine after the high-wall collapse incident in February this year.

“While the productivity of the redeployed teams improved on the previous quarter, it remained lower than their capacity at Ngwarati Mine resulting in production being 2 percent lower than the fourth quarter last year,” said Zimplats.

Ngwarati Mine has reopened for production and Zimplats has registered 6E head grade of 3,4 gramme per tonne and 6E recovery of 77,9 percent improved from the prior quarter as the ore mix stabilised.

“However, milling of lower-grade development ore from Mupani Mine after the precautionary closure of Ngwarati Mine resulted in a three percent decline from that processed in the prior comparable quarter in 2020.

“As a result of the lower mill grade, 6E recovery was marginallylower year-on-year due to the decrease in head grade,” said Zimplats.

In the period under review, total operating cash costs increased five percent from the previous quarter due to higher volume of ore mined and milled.

In addition, costs were negatively impacted by additional Covid-19 related expenditure.

“A total of US$1 million was transferred from opening stocks to operating costs during the quarter, as concentrate stocks were reduced in the period.

“The increase in production volumes resulted in an eight percent quarter-on-quarter decrease in operating cash costs per 6E ounce to US$655. Unit costs in the June 2020 quarter benefitted from the volume gains realised from the treatment of furnace reverts.”

A total of US$1,3 million was spent on exploration projects, with a further US$100 000 committed during the period under review.

“Exploration activities included mineral resource evaluation work, comprising approximately 10 171 metres of surface diamond drilling over existing projects on the two mining leases.

“The exploration activities improved geological and geotechnical confidence in scheduled production,” it said. 

The Chronicle

THE State has withdrawn the public violence charge against a Hwange activist who had been accused of leading a protest against a Chinese company carrying out coal-mining operations in Dinde.

Never Tshuma, the Dinde Residents Association vice-chairperson, was arrested in April for leading a protest against the coal-mining project in the area.

Tshuma was barred from visiting Dinde, his home area, as part of his bail conditions.

His lawyer Gerald Musengi confirmed to Southern Eye that the State had withdrawn charges against his client citing lack of evidence.

“The circumstances were primarily that the complainants felt they could not pursue the matter anymore,” Musengi said.

The proposed Beifa Investment Company coal-mining project evoked anger in the Dinde community.

Recently, Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs minister Richard Moyo and Mines minister Winston Chitando led a government delegation to the area to convince villagers to allow the project to take off.

Beifa Investment has repeatedly said its operations are above board, and within the confines of the country’s mining laws.

“All the paperwork done by Beifa Investments (Pvt) Ltd is above board and the company is in strict adherence with the law,” said Beifa Investments (Pvt) Ltd project manager Zhou Zheng Qian in a statement.

“Beifa Investments has not evicted anyone or shown any intention to evict anyone within the Dinde community.

“Beifa Investments respects the customs and values of the communities it operates in and it has never been the company’s wish to unsettle or violate such customs and values … categorically denies ever desecrating any graves in the Dinde community as alleged or
at all.”

The company once wrote to the Zanu PF Matabeleland provincial leadership requesting protection from its members that were inciting villagers’ to protest against the firm’s coal mining operations.

Newsday

TEN companies will take control of Zimbabwe’s privatised gold refinery, Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR), for US$49 million, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube said on Thursday.

This will be the first time that the refinery will be in private hands since it was established in 1988.

The sale, first announced in December last year, will see the new shareholders owning 60% of Fidelity Printers and Refiners, while the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) retains the remaining 40%.

“The process of partial privatisation of Fidelity Printers and Refiners will be through offering 60% of its shareholding in the gold refinery business to producers of gold.

“The central bank will remain with 40% in the gold refinery company and 100% in the printing, minting and gold financing business. Ten shareholders have so far accepted to take shareholding in Fidelity Gold Refinery at a total consideration of US$49 million,” Ncube told Parliament as he presented a budget review statement.

He did not name the shareholders.

However, under the ownership structure announced last year, companies will take shareholding-based on the average quantity of gold delivered to Fidelity over the previous three years. Large-scale miners will hold 50% shareholding, while 3% will go to gold buying agents and the remaining 7% to the small-scale producers through their representative bodies. Among the country’s largest gold producers are Kuvimba — which controls Freda Rebecca, Shamva and other mines — Caledonia Mining, which runs Blanket, and RioZim, which owns three gold mines.

Kuvimba’s biggest mine, Freda, produced 2,7 tonnes last year. Blanket Mine produced 1,6 tonnes while output at RioZim was 1,21 tonnes for 2020.

The privatisation of FPR came after lobbying from some players in the mining business.

It follows the model of Rand Refinery, South Africa’s biggest refinery, which is owned by the five largest gold miners Anglogold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Harmony, Sibanye Gold and DRDGOLD.

However, the privatisation will create fresh controversy over the ownership of mining assets, given the leading role that Kuvimba, whose shareholding structure has been subject to public scrutiny, is likely to play due to its commanding output.

FPR started refining gold in 1988, and at its peak producers from abroad sent in their gold for refining at its Msasa refinery in Harare. However, FPR has not used most of its installed capacity to refine 50 tonnes of gold per year, and its new owners will have to invest substantially in retooling.

The company, which buys gold from miners from at least a dozen centres around the country, has struggled to pay miners on time for gold deliveries, pushing miners to call for its privatisation.

 Newzwire

TWO dead bodies of gold mine workers who allegedly died while attempting to steal ore from their employer were retrieved at the weekend at the Old Timer B Lowfield Gold Mine in Goromonzi, Mashonaland East province.

The deceased, identified as Kundai Jose and Richard Kamuchoriro, died after a mineshaft collapsed.

Their bodies were retrieved two days later.

Provincial police spokesperson Inspector Simon Chazovachii yesterday confirmed the incident, saying the bodies were taken to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals for post-mortem.

Chazovachii said on July 29, at around 9pm, the duo hatched a plan to steal gold ore from their employer, Gerald Chirau.

It is alleged that they told their colleague, Onesimo Mutero about their plans.

When they went down the shaft, Mutero heard some vibrations and realised that the mineshaft was collapsing.

He informed Chirau, who filed a police report. He hired an excavator, but failed to retrieve the bodies before villagers joined in and removed them manually.

Newsday

A NEW town is set to be born between Mvuma-Chivhu and Manhize where Tsingshan Group Holdings, a Fortune 500 listed company is set to build a world class iron and steel plant that will also come with ferrochrome furnaces.

Already, siting for a dam along Munyati River, urban planning, logistical and other infrastructural development projects are underway in what is the fruition of one of President Mnangagwa’s flagship investment programmes under his Zimbabwe is open for business mantra.

The project will be carried by Tsingshan’s subsidiary, Dinson Iron and Steel Company which will be the largest steel plant in Southern Africa.

The US$1 billion investment project will have an annual turnover of US$1,5 billion from the processing plant and iron ore mine from next year.

Equipped with a 1,5km-by-600-metre carbon and steel plant, an iron ore mine, and a ferrochrome plant, the project will have a capacity of 1,2 million tonnes a year, while between 4 000 and 5 000 people will benefit through employment across value chains.

The project, which was almost scuppered by G40 functionaries in 2014 as a powerful figure allegedly demanded a 60 percent shareholding in the US$10 billion investment that Tsingshan had earmarked for Zimbabwe, comes at a time when the country’s economy is on a rebound.

Back then Tsingshan Group, whose annual revenue in 2018, according to Forbes exceeded US$28 billion took their money to Indonesia and only returned to Zimbabwe after the birth of the Second Republic under President Mnangagwa’s rule.

In an interview, former Norton legislator and Zimbabwean Ambassador to China Mr Chris Mutsvangwa, who has followed the project since its inception said President Mnangagwa’s vision is on display as Tsingshan, whose chairman is Mr Xiang Guangda, transforms
Mvuma, Chivhu and Manhize.

“Mr Xiang Guangda was already an investor in Selous and wanted to expand in Zimbabwe but was turned down because an influential figure in G40 wanted 60 percent of the company under the Indigenisation Act. That explains why the first thing that President Mnangagwa did when he came into power was to repeal the Indigenisation Act,’’ he said.

While he was Vice President, President Mnangagwa in 2016 went to China to revive the project but was undone by the G40 elements who stopped some of the members of the team from travelling to the Asian country.

“On two occasions, the G40 elements stalled the project. The G40 were blind moles, they didn’t see where this project was going. Look at where the company is now. In 2020 Xiang was number 329, the previous year he was number 361, and now he is 279 on the Fortune 500,” said Ambassador Mutsvangwa.

For the local communities, the project is a game-changer as it will bring employment and also give economic pulse to a region that has lost in terms of investment over the years.

The epicentre of the multi-million-dollar project is around the mountainous Manhize escarpment which forms the border with Mashonaland West and slightly protruding into Chirumhanzu but with its backbone in the Chikomba District, within an area under the traditional jurisdiction of Mambo Nyoka of the Museyamwa lineage.

Recently a site visit was conducted by the company representatives and the local leadership led by Chief Chirumhanzu within the Manhize area, to facilitate the commencement of feasibility research that will lead eventually to project implementation.

The Chronicle