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School seeks to evict Murowa Diamond from premises

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School seeks to evict Murowa Diamond from premises

Madamombe Secondary School has dragged Murowa Diamond to court in an effort to evict the miner from the school premises for disrupting learning activities.

The School Development Committee (SDC) seeks for the court to evict Murowa Diamonds from the school grounds in Sese Communal Lands, where the company has been exploring diamonds for three years.

Murowa Diamonds was last year given an ultimatum to leave the area by SDC on grounds of not considering the community’s concerns.

The SDC has been arguing that Murowa was disrupting learning activities after camping at Danhamombe High School grounds from where it explores gems in kimberlite pipes discovered in the area.

Through its lawyers Matutu and Mureri, the SDC approached the Masvingo Civil Court seeking Murowa to be ejected from the school precincts within seven days from the issuance of summons.

The summons, dated 3 March 2021, cited the diamond miner as the first respondent and the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education as the second respondent.

Danhamombe SDC also wants Murowa to meet the costs of the suit.

Murowa is still to file a notice to defend the suit.

Murowa began exploring diamonds in Sese around 2018 and has nearly 200 mining claims in the area.

At one time, Murowa stood accused of having conducted drilling activities less than 100 metres from a classroom block at St Simon Zhara Primary School, which shares the grounds with Danhamombe High School, with the noise of the rig disrupting learning at Danhamombe High School.

The community, under the auspices of Sese Community Trust, first wrote to Government and the diamond miner demanding that Murowa decamps from Danhamombe High premises by December 5 last year.

Murowa was also accused of failing to engage the community to work out an amicable arrangement that satisfies both parties.

Masvingo Provincial Affairs Minister Ezra Chadzamira at one time weighed in the dispute, saying it was improper for Murowa to camp within premises of a school.

President Mnangagwa also spoke about the issue during a visit to Chivi in December last year, urging Murowa to engage the Sese community to resolve the dispute.

Murowa owns a diamond mine in Zvishavane and the Sese community says they want a win-win situation with the gem extractor if it is to go ahead with mining activities in the area.

RioZim Murowa (a member of RioZim Limited) is a leading diamond mining company in Zimbabwe located in Zvishavane. It changed its name from Murowa Diamonds to RioZim Murowa in 2019.

Prospect Resources Managing Director awarded incentive options

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Prospect Resources Managing Director awarded incentive options

African lithium developer, Prospect Resources Limited has announced the award of incentives options to its Managing Director Mr Sam Hosack.

By Shantel T Chisango

The options issued to Mr Hosack are linked to achieving progress in the Arcadia Project and creating essential alignment with shareholders.

The number of options issued to Hosack is six million, with an exercising price of $0.26 ( being 150% of the 5-day Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) at the time the Board resolved to offer the Options), expiring 3 February 2025.

Furthermore, the company announced the appointment of Joint Company Secretaries Ian Goldberg and Lee Tamplin under Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) Listing Rule 3.16.1, with immediate effect.

Mr Tamplin was also put in charge of communications between the Company and ASX for ASX Listing Rule 12.6.

Further to these appointments, Mr Andrew Whitten the Company Secretary of the will step down with immediate effect.

Incentive Options are a corporate benefit that gives an employee the right to buy shares of company stock at a discounted price with the added benefit of possible tax breaks on the profit.

About Prospect Resources Limited

Prospect Resources Limited (ASX: PSC, FRA:5E8) is an ASX listed lithium company based in Perth with operations in Zimbabwe. Prospect’s flagship project is the Arcadia Lithium Project located on the outskirts of Harare in Zimbabwe. The Arcadia Lithium Project represents a globally significant hard rock lithium resource and is being rapidly developed by

Prospect’s experienced team, focusing on near-term production of high purity petalite and spodumene concentrates.

Arcadia is one of the most advanced lithium projects globally, with a Definitive Feasibility Study, Offtake Partners secured and a clear pathway to production.

Battery grade lithium prices in China surge 68%

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Battery grade lithium prices in China surge 68%

Domestic Chinese battery-grade lithium carbonate prices assessed by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence are on a tear in 2021 after bottoming out in the second half of last year, following a lengthy slump.

Ex-works lithium carbonate in China (≥99.5% Li2CO3) jumped by 68% to its highest since June 2019 in the first two months on the back of high battery demand, particularly for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode, and a slower-than-anticipated transition to high nickel chemistries, according to Benchmark.
Benchmark’s megafactory tracker points to the extent of the rise in demand reflected in China’s battery production figures, which totalled 12 GWh in January, an increase of nearly 320% compared to the same month last year when the country was in the first stages of the pandemic.

The surge was led by production of LFP batteries which is growing at a breakneck speed, up nearly 500% year- on-year.

THREE YEARS OF FALLING LITHIUM PRICES HAVE FAILED TO INCENTIVISE SUFFICIENT INVESTMENT INTO THE SUPPLY CHAIN, LEADING TO GREATER RISKS OF PRICE VOLATILITY AS BATTERY DEMAND RAMPS UP

Surging Chinese lithium carbonate prices, which now hold a premium over hydroxide prices for the first time since April 2018, helped push the Benchmark Lithium Price Index up by 14.4% in February 2021, its second-largest move on record after January 2021, the London-headquartered research and price reporting agency said.

While the most rapid gains were in China, Benchmark’s global weighted average lithium hydroxide prices are up 8% year-to-date and ex-Chinese carbonate prices up by an average of 17.1% in February:

In fact, all 11 of Benchmark’s lithium prices registered increases in February 2021 as producers of both spodumene and lithium chemicals worldwide have begun to sell out inventories and fill order books through until the end of Q2 2021.

While lithium’s majors are beginning to reengage in expansion plans, three years of falling lithium prices have failed to incentivise sufficient investment into the supply chain, leading to greater risks of price volatility as battery demand ramps up.

Battery grade lithium prices in China surge 68%

Mining.com

In 2020, Ghana’s mines produced 140 metric tons of gold.

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In 2020, Ghana’s mines produced 140 metric tons of gold.

China, Australia, Russia, and the United States are some of the largest producers of gold in the world. Global production of gold reached approximately 3,200 metric tons in 2020. Production in China has increased from 320 metric tons in 2009 to an estimated 380 metric tons in 2020. However, large-scale gold production is minimal with only one mine exceeding 300,000 ounces of gold, the Zijinshan gold-copper mine in the Fujan Province. The production value of gold in the United States has increased from 4.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2006 to 9.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2017.

One of the largest gold companies in the world, AngloGold Ashanti, is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa and was founded in 2004. It generated revenues of 4.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2016. It produced over 3.6 million ounces of gold in 2016, with over half of it being produced in Africa. Most gold mining is performed by large corporations around the world. However, there are smaller independent operations and in some cases, illegal mines have also been formed such as one in the Ashanti Region in Ghana where 18 people were killed in November 2009.

statista.com

Finance Minister to clear mining confusion

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Finance Minister to clear mining confusion

Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, is expected to issue a “legal clarity” following the confusion created by an amendment to the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act [Chapter 14:33] (IEE Act) that created an impression of a return of former President Mugabe’s policies.

As such, Mthuli is expected to address the matter in full and clear sticking issues when he presents his midterm budget review statement later in the year to reassure some investors.

The misconception, which led some quarters into concluding that Government was reneging on President Mnangagwa’s “Zimbabwe is Open for Business” mantra, came about when Government gazetted the Finance (No 2) Act, 2020 (section 36).

The amendment appeared to have caused a misconception among investors and stakeholders who thought that Government had brought back the 51 percent local ownership threshold for the mining sector.

The misconception has even persisted Mthuli issuing a statement earlier in the month clarifying Government position that the sector was open for investors regardless of their nationalities.

Mthuli even highlighted that Government will delete the insertion that caused the misconception in a bid to enhance certainty and consistent with Government policy.

This week Finance and Economic Development Deputy Minister, Clemence Chiduwa, said Mthuli was going to use the midterm budget review statement to legally address the matter.

Chiduwa’s clarification comes amid concerns from stakeholders who had thought that Government will issue a Statutory Instrument (SI) to effect the deletion promised Mthuli.

“The Honourable Minister (Mthuli Ncube) noted the misconception that was created by the amendment thus the reason of the press statement he issued earlier this month,” said Chiduwa.

“But the deletion which he alluded to is not going to be done through an SI, because whatever was said was coming from the Finance Act and you cannot amend the Finance Act via an SI, it can only be amended when we present the midterm review.

“But for emphasis’ sake please note that the 51 percent no longer applies to all the minerals that are currently being mined in the country.

“It’s a policy position that is in sync and is informed by His Excellency’s ‘Zimbabwe is open for Business’ mantra which seeks to foster investment in the sector,” said the Deputy Minister.

The mining sector and agriculture are the key cornerstones with which Government expects to foster investment and production for economic growth towards an upper middle income economy by 2030.

The mining sector has registered billions worthy of investment and the key lure to this has been the opening up of the sector under the “Zimbabwe is open for business”.

It is against this background that the President has to date set the sector a 2023 milestone through which mining sector exports are expected to jump from US$2, 7 billion achieved in 2017 to US$12 billion.

Business Weekly

Two Chinese firms eye Zisco

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Two Chinese firms eye Zisco

Two Chinese steel giants including state-owned Tisco have carried out preliminary due diligence on the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (zisco),  as the Government steps up efforts to revive once Africa’s largest integrated steelworks.

Four potential investors have also submitted expression of interests and are being examined by the board, two people familiar with the development said.

zisco stopped operations in 2008 due to lack of capital to recapitalise and poor management. With its furnaces having capacity to produce up to one million tonnes annually, the company was among Zimbabwe’s major foreign currency earners.

“zisco, which is owned by the Chinese government and Fan Fei, a private owned company have already done preliminary due diligence,” said one source who declined to be named because the matter is still private.

“We also have four other potential investors from Germany and Australia who have formally made their expression of interests and the board is carrying out due diligence on them.”

No official comment could be immediately obtained from Zisco by the time of going to print.

Another source said zisco would engage transaction advisors made up of specialists in project and corporate finance, financial modelling and deal structuring.

The financial advisors will be responsible for overall project management, including evaluation of the transaction, development of the business case, devising the market engagement strategy, including management of input from zisco’s other advisers.

Meanwhile, zisco is working on creating condition necessary to attract investment and these include production of audited accounts up to 2020, a market study, valuation of the business and bankable business feasibility studies for its subsidiaries, BIMCO and Lancashire Steel.

These are at different stages of completion and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce would review the reports at the end of this quarter.

zisco started operations in Bulawayo in 1938 having been formed by a private consortium.

In 1942, the Government formed the Rhodesia Iron and Steel Commission, a statutory body which took over the steel works.

In 1946, a small plant was constructed at Redcliff and commenced production in 1948.

Between 1948 and 1956, zisco gradually expanded and a year later, the Rhodesia Iron and Steel Company was formed followed by an expansion programme, which saw the commissioning of modern blast furnaces and installation of the first coke oven battery.

The expansion of the plant continued until 1975 when blast furnace 4 was commissioned, bringing steel works capacity to one million tonnes of liquid steel per year.

By early 1990’s operations at zisco started deteriorating while mining costs at Buchwa Mine sharply rose, forcing the company to develop Ripple Creek Mine for the supply of iron ore to the blast furnaces.

Blast Furnace 4 was reaching the end of its lifespan and was taken off in 1994.  A Chinese company was contracted to reconstruct and reline the furnace, which was recommissioned in 1999.

zisco is 91 percent owned by the Government.

The remaining 9 percent is held by Louth Minerals SA (3 percent), Tonexin Investments (2,8 percent), Stewarts and Lloyds (Overseas) (1,76 percent), Franconian Investments (0,81 percent), Amzim Limited (0,75 percent) and Zambia Copper Investment Limited (0,13 percent).

The Government in 2013 entered into an agreement with ESSAR of India to sell 60 percent shareholding but the deal collapsed in 2015.

The Government then signed another agreement with R & F Properties of China to sell its entire shareholding but again the deal collapsed in December 2019.

At the time zisco was in talks with R & F, the Government, under unclear circumstances, agreed to sell some of Zisco key assets to ZimCoke, a company fronted by Eddie Cross.

The deal collapsed last year after the board produced an adverse report on various aspects of the agreement.

 

Business Weekly

Expansion prospects excite Caledonia

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Expansion prospects excite Caledonia

New York Stock Exchange-listed concern, Caledonia Mining Corporation, has encountered impressive signals in gold exploration works that the miner is carrying out in the country.

The impressive initial results, come at a time when the miner is carrying out an elaborate expansion drive with which it is targeting to grow its local gold production output from just over 58 000 ounces per annum to 500 000 ounces (around 15,5 tonnes) by 2030.

Caledonia Mining Corporation is the parent company behind Blanket Mine in Gwanda and in October last year signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government which sought to grow the miner’s local footprint.

Caledonia Mining Corporation chief executive Mr Steve Curtis signed the MOU with Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando signing for the Government at a ceremony that was also attended by President Mnangagwa.

Speaking on the sidelines of the recently held 121 mining conference in Capetown, South Africa, Caledonia Mining Corporation Chief Financial Officer Mr Mark Learmonth told the Assay TV that the New York Stock exchange miner is encouraged by the geological analysis it has made so far.

“We must have evaluated two dozen projects in Zimbabwe,” said Mr Learmonth.

“The geological prospect is astounding. Some of the stuff really blows you off,” he said.

In an advertorial published in our sister paper, The Sunday Mail this week, the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development said Caledonia Mining Corporation’s expansion plan as articulated in the MOU it signed with the Government, is one of the major projects expected to anchor the 2023 mining sector milestone.

Under the milestone, the Government is targeting to grow mining sector exports from US$2,7 attained in 2017 to an annual haul of at least US$12 billion from 2023 onwards.

Mr Learmonth told the Assay TV that Caledonia employs 1 640 locals and that it is happy with the arrangement that sees them getting both US dollars and the local currency for their gold deliveries.

“We sell our gold to the Government . . . then we get paid in a combination of US dollars and the local currency and we actually use that local component to pay for our local expenses . . . and the balance (USD) is more than adequate to cover the cost of material that we import around the mine and then to repatriate profits,” he said.

Word coming from Caledonia will be welcome to the Government which has set the mining sector
as one of the key pillars with which it seeks to foster rapid economic development towards upper
middle-income status by 2030 as set out by the President.

To achieve the required growth, the Government is targeting to expand already existing mining projects to maximum capacity utilisation as well as lure investment into new projects.

Business Weekly

Is Zim vulnerable as mining tips exports? registered 2,7 percent growth

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Is Zim vulnerable as mining tips exports? registered 2,7 percent growth

WHILE the Zimbabwe economy showed great resilience to pull through a Covid-19 ravaged year, after its exports recorded modest growth, the numbers indicate a worrying dependency on minerals and vulnerability to external price volatility.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, and expectations that world trade was set to fall by as much as 32 percent in 2020, amid disruptions in normal economic activity and life around the world, Zimbabwe still managed to record modest export growth.

 According to National trade promotion body ZimTrade, local companies were able to sustain exports regardless of the challenges to production and movement of goods that hit almost all countries across the world.

ZimTrade said on the basis of recent statistics from Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, Zimbabwe’s total exports grew by 2,7 percent between January-December 2020 and the prior year.

Total exports last year stood at US$4,39 billion, up from US$4,28 billion in same period in 2019, but, falling short of the 10 percent growth targeted under the national export development strategy.

Worryingly though, in terms of product composition, primary commodities dominated the exports in 2020.

Of the 30 countries with the lowest human development indicators in 2001, 26 were among either the 54 agricultural Commodity Dependent Countries identified by the European Commission or 25 most mineral-dependent or 25 most oil-dependent countries in the world.”

Since Zimbabwe is looking at leveraging on its competitive advantages through natural resources, good climate, ecological endowment, and skills base, it is worthwhile expanding the export base to lower commodity dependency risks from global price fluctuations.

“The starting focus will be on enhancing food processing sub-sectors that the country has comparative advantages that have high export potential such as sugar, coffee/ tea, fruit concentrates and fish and aquatic products,” ZimTrade says.

Zimbabwe’s mineral exports stood at US$3,210 billion during the period under review, accounting for 73 percent of the total exports in 2020, indicating vulnerability to the dangers of global commodity price fluctuations.

Top mineral exports where nickel mattes (US$985 million), gold (US$982 million), nickel ores and concentrates (US$612 million), diamonds (US$141 million), ferro alloys (US$140 million) and platinum (US$134 million).

Given the contribution of the mining sector to the economy, there is need to enhance investments towards beneficiation and value-addition, ZimTrade said in its latest trade publication.

According to United Nations Development Programme, unpredictable commodity price fluctuations can significantly reduce national revenue and cost millions of jobs in a fell swoop.

“At the national level, fluctuating revenues make fiscal planning extremely difficult and this in turn makes it extremely difficult to plan sustainable social and economic development programmes,” the UNDP said in an earlier report.

Over the longer term, dependence on primary commodities heightens a country’s vulnerability.

This is because (non-oil) primary commodity prices exhibit a largely declining trend over the longer term.

When there is a deterioration in trade for non-oil primary commodity producers over the longer term, increases in volumes must compensate for drops in prices in for an economy to be able to afford the same level of imports.

Notably though, Zimbabwe recorded growth in processed food exports, which increased by 17,96 percent to US$115 million from US$98 million in 2019.

Horticulture, which is amongst the top four foreign currency earners for Zimbabwe, registered a 13,5 percent decline from US$68,8 million in 2019 to US$59,5 million in 2020.

The clothing and textile sector registered 29 percent decline from US$61,9 million in 2019 to US$44 million in 2020.

Exports from arts and crafts sector fell by 49,5 percent from US$10,4 million in 2019 to US$5,3 million in 2020.

Zimbabwe’s fish export value declined by 54,6 percent from US$6,5 million in 2019 to US$2,96 million in 2020.

 

Business Weekly

Co-operation between artisanal miners and companies gains momentum

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Co-operation between artisanal miners and companies gains momentum

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has long been portrayed as a source of environmental and social problems in developing countries.

But ASM has been being found to have both positive and negative impacts, and is estimated by World Bank data to employ at least 42 million people directly across the globe

The governments of Colombia and Peru are studying the possibility of centralizing gold purchases, in an effort to combat illegal and informal extraction.

“Another possible solution is the co-existence of artisanal miners with conventional mining companies,” says professor Marcello Veiga of the Institute of Mining Engineering of the University of British Columbia.

ANGLOGOLD ASHANTI AND B2GOLD ARE INITIATING A PROCESS OF CO-EXISTENCE IN THEIR GRAMALOTE PROJECT, IN COLOMBIA

“A co-existence system in which artisanal miners can work in areas of the mining concessions seems to be a feasible solution and successful examples are now happening in Latin America,” professor Marcello Veiga told MINING.COM.

According to Marcello Veiga, the obsession of governments to make artisanal mining legal and taxable ends up creating more illegality.

“Mercury has been smuggled from one country to another, the price has increased and the middlemen, who sell mercury at high prices and buy gold at cheaper rates, are the main beneficiaries,” he said.

Violence

In 2018, Continental Gold mining engineer Oscar Alarcon was killed and another one, Jorge Armando Tarra, shot 5 times after being attacked by four armed individuals in northwest Colombia.

The engineers were coordinating the company’s co-existence project in the Buritica gold mine.

“The company was providing technical guidance, creating plans for mining, geology, and that was against the interests of the criminals who dominated mineral exploration,” Tarra told MINING.COM.

“With the work of coexistence, criminal groups started to see a drop of almost 80% in the illegal exploration. The order of the crime bosses was to regain control of mining,” he said.

Investigations showed that the attack was ordered by the Clan del Golfo, one of the most powerful criminal organizations operating in the country.

Of the four hitmen identified by Jorge Tarra, one was sentenced to prison, two are facing charges, and one evaded capture.

Co-existence

Placer Dome organized in 1995 the artisanal miners already working
in the company’s area in Venezuela and separated a small part of the claim to allow them to work. The company also provided technical assistance to the miners and built a simple processing plant for them with grinding and concentration of gold without mercury.

“The approach also came with the added benefit of formalization and training for the miners, who eventually could be employed by the company. Unfortunately, the Placer Dome’s project did not proceed due to
technical and political reasons and all co-existence measures disappeared,” said Marcello Veiga.

Newlox Gold buys gold ore from mining cooperative in Costa Rica (Image: Newlox Gold)

AngloGold Ashanti and B2Gold are initiating a process of co-existence in their Gramalote Project, in Colombia. An assigned area in the
project mineral title was designated for the miners and the preliminary
drilling established a minimum gold reserve.

In Costa Rica, Newlox Gold is also working in partnership with local stakeholders, buying gold ore from an artisanal mining cooperative,with one plant processing 85 tonnes per day amalgamation tailings and a second being installed for 150 tonnes per day.

Canadian miner Dynacor currently buys gold ore from 6,000 artisanal miners, processing at its 330 tonnes per day plant in Peru.

In Ecuador, Lundin Gold has been working since 2005 in partnership with 4,000 artisanal miners at its Fruta del Norte gold mine.

Mining.com

Rare earth, uranium miners benefit from EV mania and dash of ESG

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Rare earth, uranium miners benefit from EV mania and dash of ESG

Rare earth miners and uranium producers are reaping rewards from the flood of money pouring into electrification and ESG investing themes.

Lithium producers have been more traditional beneficiaries of EV and the green energy push. But more recently, rare earth producers have also started to garner investors attention amid enthusiasm about electric vehicles.
Shares of MP Materials Corp., the largest U.S. based miner of rare earths, is up more than fourfold since Biden won the election four months ago, compared with an 86% gain in VanEck Vectors Rare Earth/Strategic Metals ETF.

Shares in the company, which went public via a SPAC deal in July, rose for a third day and were up 0.7% to $49.8 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley initiated research on the stock on Tuesday, with a price target of $57.

MP is “a play on accelerating adoption of electric vehicles and electrification trends in wind turbines,” Morgan Stanley analyst Carlos De Alba said in a report on Tuesday. “If you like EV, you’ll love MP.” The stock has three buys, zero holds or sells and twelve month average analyst price target is $36.

THE URANIUM SECTOR COULD GAIN EVEN MORE AS SOME ARE SPECULATING THAT LARGE FUNDS ARE PROBABLY SLOWLY INCREASING THEIR POSITION IN THE SECTOR

Meanwhile, with supply tightening and ESG demand from investors ramping up, uranium stocks such as Denison Mines Corp. have surged more than 70% this year, compared to 23% gain in Global X Uranium ETF. The stock rose 2% on Wednesday.

“Uranium sector supply/demand balance is the tightest we’ve seen since pre-Fukushima,” said GJL Research analyst Gordon Johnson, referencing to 2011 nuclear catastrophe in Japan.

“When you add to this, uranium stocks are now gaining attention from ESG investors due to their low GHG footprint and quintessential role as a clean energy alternative, we see the set-up for incremental/new Uranium investments as opportune,” Johnson added, referring to greenhouse gas emissions.

The uranium sector could gain even more as some are speculating that large funds are probably slowly increasing their position in the sector, according to Johnson. “If true, this could go on for a long time as they build significant positions ahead of the inevitable price rise in the commodity,” he said.

The so-called rare earth metals are used in everything from lithium-ion batteries to electric vehicles, wind turbines and missile guidance systems. There are only handful of producers globally, with China controlling a majority of the sector’s production and capacity.

Uranium miner Energy Fuels Inc. announced on Tuesday it partnered with Neo Performance Materials Inc. to produce rare earth together. This pact prompted Stifel Canada to upgrade Neo Performance on Tuesday, citing rare earth as “multi-year growth opportunity.”

Both Energy Fuels and Neo Performance were up on Wednesday after a rally n Tuesday, bringing this year’s advance to 50% and 35% respectively.

Bloomberg News

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