Mining ZimbabweLatest Mining News, Policy and Industry Updates

ZIMBABWE-focused lithium outfit, Prospect Resources moved close to taking full control at its flagship Arcadia Mine on Friday, after scaling up shareholding to 87% in a deal worth just under US$1 million.

The Australia Stock Exchange-listed firm previously held a 70% stake in the asset that has recently been reporting significant progress towards full-scale mining and exportation of lithium at Arcadia, a world-class asset on the outskirts of Harare.

Prospect acquired Arcadia in 2016.

In 2018, the firm said it would be increasing shareholding upon signing a conditional agreement with another shareholder, Farvic Consolidated Mines.

Under the deal, Farvic agreed to transfer its 17% equity in Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, the firm that controls the Arcadia lithium project, to Prospect Minerals, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Prospect Resources.

Friday’s transaction saw the sides exchange A$1,18 million, about (US$874 257) in cash and 9,4 million shares, according to Prospect managing director Sam Hosack.

“Completing the Farvic transaction provides an immediate benefit to Prospect Resources as it now owns an additional 17% of the quality Arcadia lithium project,” Hosack said in a note to shareholders.

“The increase in ownership will have a major positive impact on our funding of the Arcadia lithium project,” he said.

Prospect had announced at the beginning of this year that the sale and purchase agreement with Farvic would be extended to December 31, 2021.

However, it appeared that requisite regulatory approvals were secured much earlier, giving the two sides the right to conclude the deal.

But most importantly for Prospect, the firm has been funding 100% of the project’s overheads, which means Friday’s transaction gave it an opportunity to increase its share of future revenues and profits from the mine, without an increase in expenditure.

Prospect’s shares on the ASX traded at 18,2% higher at 32,5 cents at 4:10pm on Friday, an indication of the market’s positive sentiment about the deal.

Last week, Prospect said it had produced 25 kilogrammes of spodumene concentrate from core samples collected at Arcadia Mine.

Spodumene is considered the most valuable lithium ore mineral, which is crushed to form a concentrate before shipment to chemical-manufacturing companies worldwide.

The firm is targeting strategic markets in Japan, China and Europe, as it fine-tunes its systems before full-scale production kicks off.

There has been significant progress by companies prospecting and developing lithium assets in Zimbabwe.

Early this month, London Stock Exchange-listed Premier African Minerals said results from its drilling programme at Zulu Lithium near Bulawayo were encouraging.

The developments mark an important step in the southern African country’s ambition to transform its mining industry, turning over about US$2 billion annual revenue, into a US$12 billion sector by 2023.

Following recent finds, Zimbabwe has placed its lithium assets at the heart of this ambition, and also looks to gold, platinum and diamonds to drive the expansion drive.

About four lithium projects are currently under development in Zimbabwe, where firms including Premier and Prospect expect to invest up to US$300 million in the coming years to reach full
production.

Premier said the results of the samples confirmed significant lithium grade and lithium mineralisation.

NewsDay

Zimplats has applied for a licence to install close to 200MW of solar power to feed operations at Ngezi and Selous, where it is spending US$290 million in additional investment to grow platinum output.

The country’s biggest platinum producer wants to build a 105MW plant at Ngezi, where Zimplats operates mines and two concentrators. Another 80MW will be installed at the Selous metallurgical complex, where a concentrator and a smelter are located.

According to a notice by energy regulator ZERA, a 132kv solar plant substation will be built at Ngezi. The company will run a 5km line from the plant to the Ngezi mine substation. At Selous, lines will run for 500m to the existing 132kV line.

Zimplats currently depends on electricity supply from Cahora Bassa’s hydro station in Mozambique, but the company is adding solar to secure reliable supply and earn more sustainability credits.

“All investors want to understand is what are you doing to decarbonise and to become a more sustainable business,” said Johan Theron, a spokesman for Implats, Zimplats’ holding company. “It’s a concern about the future and whether everybody is doing their bit. If we do nothing and we continue to use coal power like we use today, then in 10 to 20 years we will have a problem.”

In February, Implats CEO Nico Muller said building solar power for its Zimbabwe operations was part of the company’s growth strategy in the country.

Said Muller: “In Zimbabwe, we are totally reliant on power generation from the Cabora Bassa scheme, so all our power there is renewable energy, so that’s probably the cleanest platinum being produced on the planet at the moment. In addition to that, in Zimbabwe we are in the midst of a feasibility study to evaluate the construction of a 200MW solar power plant, and that will provide not only the 80MW at Zimplats, but also the 30MW that we use at Mimosa, and in there is sufficient amount of energy to feed into the grid as a broader in-country strategy.”

Implats is currently investing US$290 million on new mine development. The new Mupani Mine and the redeveloped Bimha mine will add another 180,000 ounces.

Mines going solar

Zimplats is one of many mining operations in Zimbabwe investing in renewables. Steady power supply is one of the major concerns for miners in the country.

Caledonia Mining raised US$13 million to fund a 12MW solar plant at its Blanket Mine. The plant, being built by French company Voltalia, is expected to be completed in early 2022.

Gold producer RioZim has also been licensed to install solar power with an initial combined capacity of 75MW at its four mines.

The government expects 100MW of electricity to come from new renewable energy projects by the end of this year. Zimbabwe believes that mines will, going forward, account for a larger portion of solar power.

“You will find that new power generation will come from mining companies establishing solar projects. By 2023, we will have over 600MW of power from projects undertaken by the mining sector,” says Mines Minister Winston Chitando.

Last year, government tendered for 500MW of solar power, announcing incentives that include duty-free imports for equipment and five-year tax breaks. 

NewZwire

VILLAGERS, relocated to the Agricultural Rural Development Authority (ARDA) Transau in Odzi, Mutare West to pave way for diamond mining in Marange, have spent the past two months without water after their reticulation system broke down.

The villagers were relocated to the area in 2009 to pave way for massive diamond mining by the government and some Chinese companies.

For the past two months, the villagers have been forced to walk for long distances in search of precious liquid after their water reticulation system, maintained by the state-entity Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA), broke down.

ARDA Transau Relocation Development Trust (ATRDT) representative Tawanda Mufute told a Constitutional Talk Series meeting last that over 1 000 families at the farm were living at risk of communicable diseases as they had no access to water.

The meeting was organised by a local rights group Green Governance Zimbabwe Trust (GGZT).

ARDA Transau is a sprawling 1 200ha government-owned farm.

“We have gone for two months without access to clean water. The situation is exposing us to water-borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid as villagers rely on unprotected sources,” said Mufute.

He said companies mining diamonds in Marange, their former homes, should take responsibility and ensure people relocated to ARDA Transau had access to health care and other basic amenities.

“When it comes to natural resources and governance, mining companies must take responsibility and ensure communities in where they operate have access to information, health care, and other basic amenities.”

However, Mufute said companies mining diamonds in Marange had neglected the local communities and were only concerned with extracting gems for their benefit.

A legal expert from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), Peggy Tavagadza urged the ARDA Transau villagers to actively defend their basic rights.

She said local communities should be prepared to carry the primary burden of demanding and defending their constitutional rights.

“There is a pending case that was filed by ZELA on behalf of the community with regards to access to water. ZLHR cannot approach the courts again hence let us wait for what the courts will say about the ARDA Transau issue,” she said.

ZELA stands for Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association.

“There is a need for communities to assert and defend their rights. Many people always think of litigation as the first option when seeking remedies to rights violations, which is very wrong,” she Tavagadza adding the government had the responsibility to provide basic to the citizens.

“Demand the right to water from the relevant ministry because it is the responsibility of government to provide water for its citizens. The government has got the responsibility to provide basic needs for the communities.”

GGZT communications advisor, Donald Nyarota said a legal framework must be in place to protect local communities against the environmental, social, and economic costs of mining.

“Unfortunately, domestic legal frameworks are weak to, either contain human rights violations by businesses or extend benefits to communities. There is need for extensive legal reforms, contract transparency, and communities should be consulted.”

New Zimbabwe

The world’s biggest platinum miners are ramping up plans to build renewable energy plants to free them from power outages that have plagued South Africa for more than a decade and to reduce their carbon footprint.

Sibanye Stillwater — the number one platinum miner — Impala Platinum Holdings and Anglo American Platinum said they plan to scale up solar and wind farms for their own use to cut reliance on state-owned utility Eskom, some of whose aging coal-fired plants have failed to keep up with electricity demand. 

South Africa has been dogged by power outages since 2005 and rolling blackouts are a big problem for the world’s deepest mines, which are often forced to reduce some operations when power is rationed. 

By using more renewables, the miners may also ease pressure from investors wary of carbon-intensive industries as the shift from fossil fuels accelerates. Sibanye has approved plans to build a 50-megawatt solar plant to provide power to its gold mines. 

It’s also assessing plans for a 175-megawatt facility at its Rustenburg platinum mines and for additional supplies to come from a 250-megawatt wind farm, Wellsted said. The company will outline construction timelines at its half-year results next month. 

Anglo Platinum aims to start generating from the end of 2023 about 100 megawatts of renewable power at Mogalakwena. —  Bloomberg.

, or about a quarter of the daytime electricity demand of the world’s biggest palladium mine, said Jana Marais, a spokeswoman for the miner.  

Bloomberg

WOMEN in the mining sector say the Covid-19 pandemic has further worsened their plight amid revelations that some unscrupulous individuals were invading their mining claims resulting in theft and vandalism of mining equipment.

The women miners have further revealed that they continue to face gender related challenges and abuse from men.

According to a report from the Pact Institute, a Washington DC-based development non-profit making organisation, women make up 10 percent of Zimbabwe’s 535 000 artisanal and small-scale miners.

In an online presentation on violence in mining areas, Miss Benhlilder Manyewende from Gokwe North said women miners in the area face various forms of abuse. She said even the language used towards women at the mines was usually abusive.

“There are various issues of abuse that women here face. The abuse could be physical, sexual and even emotional whereby human rights are being violated and our culture is being washed away. This results in premature deaths, unplanned marriage plots, rape cases leading to STIs and HIV or Aids,” said Miss Manyewende.

Miss Manyewende said with most mines located near communities, this had resulted in children under the age of 16 years no longer going to school and joining mining.

“Most of the children, girls included too have dropped out of schools and joined the mining field whereby child labour is taking place. They are the ones exploited to do most of the work such as fetching water and digging the pits, but at the end of the day what they are paid is way below the work they would have done,” she said.

Miss Manyewende said there were myths that when a gold miner sleeps with a virgin girl, they would discover more gold on their claims, hence a lot of girls as young as 13 years old were being exploited.

Another woman miner, Miss Primrose Ndlovu from Filabusi said conflicts were the order of the day in their area.

She said even though Filabusi was rich in gold, men would make sure that they are the ones to work at mines and discriminated women who would want to venture into mining.

“It is in rare instances that you find peace in mining areas here in Filabusi. Most of the times there are conflicts and women are the ones who suffer the most from all sorts of abuse that are so unbearable. It becomes hard for these women to survive, whenever they get lucky or hit a belt rich in gold, when men in the community find out these women’s claims are taken away. Even when they report to the police the assistance they get is less,” said Miss Ndlovu.

Meanwhile, Zvishavane women miners are counting losses as their workplaces are being invaded, equipment stolen and mine peggings shifted in their absence.

A member of the Zvishavane Women Miners, Mrs Tsitsi Matumba said female miners were being defrauded of their gold or chrome at both mining sites and milling sites by both the millers and their own workers.

“We are suffering a double blow as Covid-19 situation itself has degenerated our energies while men are taking advantage of our absence to invade our mines. Our mining machinery is being vandalised in our absence and in worst cases mineral ore stolen. Also, when we take our ores to the milling sites, we are facing challenges in that the millers use their own prices to buy our chrome, they also use their weighbridge scaling rates, assay reports are exclusively done by the millers and we strongly feel defrauded in that regard. Under normal circumstances there must be transparency but the millers are monopolising the process,’ said Mrs Matumba.

Mukasiri Sibanda of the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) says there is need to avail financial support to women miners in Zimbabwe as they are still lagging behind in terms of machinery.

Women miners are finding it difficult to penetrate fully into the lucrative industry. Their challenges revolve around societal opinions on gender equality, exploitation, lack of financial capital, equipment and tools, legal and policy restrictions and lack of adequate support from the government.

The Sunday News

AUSTRALIA Stock Exchange-listed lithium miner, Prospect Resources says it has produced 25 kilogrammes of spodumene concentrate from core samples collected at Arcadia Mine, a world-class asset under development in Zimbabwe.

Spodumene is considered the most important lithium ore mineral, which is crashed to form a concentrate before shipment to chemical manufacturing companies worldwide.

The firm is targeting strategic markets in Japan, China and Europe, as it fine tunes its systems before full-scale production kicks off in Zimbabwe.

In a statement yesterday, Prospect said sample assays from Arcadia had confirmed the high purity nature of the spodumene concentrate.

“These results confirm Arcadia as a producer of high purity spodumene concentrate and demonstrate the value of the Arcadia project,” managing director, Sam Hosack said.

“The production of spodumene in conjunction with the successful operation of the petalite pilot plant at Arcadia Mine put the team in a strong position as we focus on progressing due diligence discussions and the development of the Arcadia project. The spodumene concentrate product samples have been produced for supply to, and potential qualification with, strategic groups across Japan, China and Europe. Prospect has been progressing engagement with a range of these groups that have an interest in spodumene concentrate offtake and assisting with development of the Arcadia project. The shipment of samples is being co-ordinated over the next few weeks,” Hosack said.

There has been significant progress by companies prospecting and developing lithium assets in Zimbabwe.

Early this month, London Stock Exchange-listed Premier African Minerals said results from its drilling programme at Zulu Lithium near Bulawayo were encouraging.

The developments mark an important step in the southern African country’s ambition to transform its mining industry, turning over about US$2 billion annual revenue, into a US$12 billion sector by 2023.

Following recent finds, Zimbabwe has placed its lithium assets at the heart of this ambition, and also looks to gold, platinum and diamonds in the expansion drive.

About four lithium projects are currently under development in Zimbabwe, where firms including Premier and Prospect expect to invest up to US$300 million in the coming years to reach full throttle production.

Premier said the results of the samples confirmed significant lithium grade and lithium mineralisation.

It said final analysis from drill hole Zulu 1A confirmed lithium grade of up to 2,33% lithium oxide and lithium mineralisation from 214 metres to 238 metres down hole. Another hole returned lithium mineralisation from 78 metres to 121 metres with grades up to 2,35%.

“When all results are in, the company intends to issue a maiden lithium resource report on what the company sees as a project of significance,” Premier chief executive officer George Roach said.

“We have seen lithium bearing pegmatites (mainly spodumene and petalite) to vertical depths of over 200 metres and along the entire strike length of some 3,5 kilometres, with some holes showing visible lithium mineralisation over drilled widths of up to 37 metres. We await the balance of the drill-hole results from this extensive drilling programme over the 3,5-kilometre strike of the Zulu deposit drilled to date,” Roach said.

NewsDay