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How to get a gold buying permit in Zimbabwe

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How to get a gold buying permit in Zimbabwe

How to get a gold buying permit in Zimbabwe

A gold buying permit in Zimbabwe is issued by Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FGR). To get a gold buying permit visit FGR.  An interview will be scheduled and in the interview, one should be prepared to commit to gold quantities they are able to buy per month. It is a must that this target is met. Licenses are issued on a monthly basis and should the license holder not meet the monthly target the license will not be renewed.

The gold buying permit is free of charge.

For a prospective gold buyer, the criteria below must be satisfied before issuance of such a gold buying agency permit.

gold-refining

A survey whereby you meet people willing to sell gold to you and the following must be met:

1) Quantities one is willing to sell to you either per week/ month.
2) They must provide their ID and phone numbers.
3) They must as well countersign.

A. Non-Custom Millers or Elution Plant Owners

1. Police clearance for individual buyers and for company directors/Agents
2. Propose under the current license/ make commitment of gold quantities you can buy per month.
3. For companies, company profile and director’s names and physical addresses.
4. Passport size photo for the principal licence holder and company directors.
5. Current tax clearance certificate for companies.

B. Custom Millers and Elution Plant Owners:

a. Current licence for the custom milling plant and/or elution plant issued by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development.
b. Current tax clearance certificate.

N.B: All custom millers are Fidelity Printers and Refiners’ gold buying agents in terms of SI 178 of 2005 section 3.

Gold delivered to Fidelity Printers and Refiners centres is paid for on the spot after carrying out a specific gravity determination of the gold content.

For more information and clarity please contact Fidelity Printers and Refiners on the details below

No. 1 George Drive, Msasa, Harare
Phone: +263 242-486670, +263 242-486694, +263 242-487131, +263 242-447810-5
Email: [email protected]

TSP advocates for formalisation of mining

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TSP advocates for formalisation of mining

GOLD panning has been a major source of livelihood for thousands of artisanal miners who trekked to numerous mineral rich areas across the country. Notwithstanding hardships faced by artisanal miners, there have been some that were lucky to strike it rich at once.

Others were not so lucky. Many died as they tried to get to the rich metal, equipped with only a pick and shovel, minus the protective clothing. But this did not deter their peers who still go down precarious mine shafts in search of the elusive metal. Things are made worse as the Environment Management Authority (EMA) is always on the miners’ throats, accusing them of indiscriminately harming the environment. But despite all this, Government has acknowledged the significant contributions by artisanal miners to the fiscus. As a result, it is seized with a process to regularise their mining operations.

The registration will enable them to mine sustainably and channel their gold to the formal market. It is estimated that more than 15 tonnes of gold, valued at over $400 million, was smuggled out of Zimbabwe between 2002 and 2007. In 2014, reports say the police intercepted more than 20kgs of gold being smuggled out of the country. About 180kgs were intercepted from illegal panning sites. It was on the back of these developments that Government agreed to decriminalise activities of artisanal gold miners.

And the country began to see a significant increase in their contribution as gold started flowing through formal channels.

In the first half of 2018, cumulative gold output stood at 17t, valued at US$715 million. The Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) acknowledges that the increase in gold output was boosted by increased production from the small-scale and artisanal miners who continue to benefit from gold facilities made available by Fidelity Printers and Refiners under the Gold Development Initiative launched in October 2016.

“This saw introduction of the Gold Development Facility, which initially targeted support to small-scale miners who are now contributing around 60 percent of all the gold that is being delivered to Fidelity Printers and Refiners. The Facility is being extended to also benefit large scale producers.” reads the TSP.

The Programme states that the capacitation of small scale miners through access to equipment for hire and affordable credit lines will see an increase in their contribution grow further.

“The thrust of the Transitional Stabilisation Programme will be on further improvements towards artisanal formalisation and enhanced funding support to drive production volumes, also embracing interventions to reduce environmental, social and health impact challenges that arise in artisanal and small scale mining operations. Furthermore, to address the problems of small scale miners, Government will also focus on the provision of extension services, concentrating on establishing accurate geological and survey information, and training of small scale miners on the application of proper mining methods,” the TSP says.

But the question remains, will small scale miners appreciate such efforts and stop selling their gold on the black market for the benefit of the economy?

Small scale miners say they definitely can increase annual gold production if they have the requisite technology and working capital to improve production efficiencies. Zimbabwe Miners Federation president Ms Henrietta Rushwaya has hailed the $150 million facility availed by Fidelity Printers to capacitate small-scale miners. Although the uptake for the facility has been low, she said it would help most miners who have been struggling to increase production and formalise their operations.

“We will continue to work together and make sure small-scale miners are formally registered so that when the Mines and Minerals Law, being amended is complete, we become formally recognised as miners. If we form groups and approach Government, we can access those areas that had been closed to us before. In line with Government’s 2030 vision, we expect to grow to become medium scale-miners,” she said.

If they access the facility, small-scale miners will be obliged to meet Government halfway and sell their gold to Fidelity Printers and Refiners. Government on its part has a bigger role to play by making sure that the facility is properly managed and miners in every part of the country equally benefit from it. It cannot concentrate on a few mining towns and neglect numerous other areas where gold mining is taking place. More than that, there has to be a system in place to ensure that those who benefited from the facility sell all their gold formally. This should be the case considering that Government has gone the extra mile to relax taxation and fee structure, which were previously “too steep”.

EMA recently came up with new mining guidelines that sought to cut down on the processes involved in the application of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and reduce the costs for small-scale and artisanal miners. The new guidelines sought to eliminate fees charged by consultants to process EIAs. The consultation fees could be anything between $1 500 and $3 000 depending, on the consultant used.

The cut down resulted in the reduction of EIA fees to $253, which many small miners can now afford. With commitment from both small-scale miners and Government, the gold sector can become more organised with an efficient value chain that will drive the country’s economic recovery.

source: The ManicaPost

Two dump trucks of diamond looted

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Two dump trucks of diamond looted

DETECTIVES in Mutare have launched an investigation into an armed robbery case in which 10 criminals allegedly bulldozed their way into the Chiadzwa diamond fields and looted two dump trucks of diamond ore before vanishing into the darkness.

The diamond ore theft occurred last Sunday, around 1am.

The criminals, suspected to be highly trained and co-ordinated, allegedly rounded up and disarmed unsuspecting Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) security guards on duty.

They allegedly assaulted them before force marching one of them to what is known as “the RBZ plant” where the diamond ore was stored.

Manicaland police spokesperson Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa confirmed the incident, but refused to discuss the details with the press.

“Investigations are in progress and the suspects are still on the run. I cannot comment now because I do not have full details of the alleged incident,” he said.

However, police sources privy to the investigations said the value of the stolen diamond ore was still being quantified.

They said on December 16, at around 1am, a group of suspected illegal diamond panners proceeded to the ZCDC Portal A, RBZ area 1, and approached the security guard on duty.

“They apprehended, assaulted and force marched him to the RBZ plant where diamond ore was stored.

“On their way to the plant, the group came across two other dog handlers and ordered them to lie on the ground facing upwards. They asked for directions to the diamond ore. The dog handlers informed them that the whole area had diamond ore. That is when another group of diamond panners approached them,” said the source.

“Another security guard who was on duty patrolling the area armed with a short gun riffle, spotted the accused persons and approached them. He was, however, apprehended, disarmed and ordered to lie down alongside the other two dog handlers”.

“Four criminals were left guarding the captive security guards while the other criminals proceeded to RBZ plant,” added the source.

The source said the robbers found two dump truck operators who were resting, and ordered them to reveal where the diamond ore was stored.

“The operators showed them a heap of diamond ore and the panners started loading it into some sacks. The group then left towards the eastern direction.

They returned the fire arm that they had confiscated from one of the guards,” said the source. The ZCDC guards later informed Dingiswayo Jeremiah Gumbo, who was the security officer on duty about the robbery.

A report was made at ZRP Marange. Detectives from Mutare Central attended the scene.

source: The ManicaPost

Mnangagwa to commission platinum processing plant

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Mnangagwa to commission platinum processing plant

SHURUGWI-based Anglo-American Platinum Miners, Unki Mine’s $62 million platinum processing plant is now complete and is expected to be commissioned by President Mnangagwa in January next year.

Construction of the plant commenced in 2016 as the company heeded Government’s call on value addition and beneficiation.

Unki Mine general manager Mr Walter Nemasasi said President Mnangagwa was expected to commission the plant next year.

He, however, said more information regarding the plant would be availed to the public once the plant had been commissioned.

“We are expecting President Mnangagwa to open the plant sometime in January and unfortunately there will be no Press briefings until then,” he said.

Unki Mine Smelting Plant project manager Mr Clifford Mutevhe once told Sunday News Business that all the structural and engineering work for the smelting plant was complete.

The plant was expected to be commissioned in July this year.

Mr Mutevhe said the plant would start operating at full throttle in 2019.

“This is a huge project that the mine is undertaking. All the structural work has been done,” he said.

Mr Mutevhe said the smelting plant, which will consume over 11 meggawatts, would see the company smelting about 623 000 tonnes of platinum concentrate per annum.

Platinum mining companies agreed to set up platinum refineries at their respective mining sites while they have also agreed to construct a single platinum processing plant.

Platinum processing, although requiring a lot of resources and capital, would enable the country to realise more from its minerals as well as curbing repatriation of profits.

In May last year, the Government signed an agreement that would see the construction of a $300 million platinum refinery which will significantly increase platinum export earnings.

The refinery would give Zimbabwe an opportunity to refine its platinum as opposed to the current process of exporting it as predominantly raw mineral.

The total output is thus expected to rise to 0,49 million ounces (moz) in 2026 from 0,42 moz produced thus year.
source: The Sunday News

ZERA advocates establishment of crude oil refinery

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ZERA advocates establishment of crude oil refinery

Zimbabwe should seriously consider establishing a local crude oil refinery as a way of cutting the ballooning fuel bill, according to the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera).

Zimbabwe’s fuel consumption has risen from an average 2 million litres daily in January to 4 million per day in October, putting a strain on the country’s limited foreign currency, as well as fuelling the emergence of fuel queues.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has doubled foreign currency allocations to fuel dealers from $10 million to $20 million per month in the same period.

Presenting oral evidence before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Power and Energy on Thursday, Zera acting chief executive officer Mr Edington Mazambani said Zimbabwe is better off with its own refinery.

Mr Mazambani also said Government can also consider rationing the scarce commodity, but he cautioned that this would not be a popular route.

It is believed that establishing local fuel processing capacity will cut the import bill substantially, develop regional export potential and create employment.

He, however, could not reveal the amount of savings to be realised assuming the nation decides to establish a refinery.

“There is definitely an increase in consumption of fuel, probably occasioned by the number of vehicular traffic on the roads and it’s more pronounced in the capital,” said Mr Mazambani.

“For petrol, we started in January at 1,6 million litres per day, it has since moved to about 3 million litres per day.

“We should, maybe, explore the setting up of a refinery to support downstream industry and also generate foreign currency when we export within the region.

“As a nation, we do have business proposal to look at the possibility of us setting up a refinery. Zambia is no longer operating their refineries, they are actually importing more of the finished product than crude oil, Botswana consumes the finished product, DRC. . . so it’s a possible market which if we explore can actually support a business case to have a refinery in this country,” he said.

Zimbabwe used to operate the Feruka Oil Refinery in Mutare which, however, mothballed in 1966. Government made efforts to revive the project in 2004 by Capref with a takeover proposal.

However, Mr Mazambani told Parliament that reviving the Mutare Refinery was ill-advised as it has since been overtaken by technology and, thus, resuscitating it could prove uneconomic.

“I am not really a technical person but that refinery was a Rhodesian project, technology has since moved. I don’t think we can operate that refinery (or) resuscitate it to be economically viable,” he said.

Before going the refinery route, the acting Zera boss said there is a need to revive a reliable public transport system so as to discourage people from driving personal vehicles.

He noted that the increase in vehicles is a result of the death of the public transport system, which is no longer reliable.

“(The other solution) is maybe to have a more reliable public transport system that will release the pressure because at the moment driving a car is no longer a luxury, it’s really a necessity because of the absence of reliable public transport system,” he said.

“So we think that if we were to introduce public transport system which is on time every-time, we will see more people opting to use public transport,” said Mr Mazambani.

Speaking before the same committee, RBZ Governor Dr John Mangudya assured parliamentarians that the country will not run out of fuel this festive season as sufficient allocations for fuel purchases will continue to be availed.

Reports say there are about 1,5 million registered vehicles on the country’s roads, some of which remain unaccounted for.

source:The Sunday mail

Chinese mining group exit Zimbabwe

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Chinese mining group exit Zimbabwe

Chinese mining and exploration group ASA Resources Group says it is tying up a deal to sell-off its shareholding in Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC), which will see it exit the Zimbabwean market.

ASA operates Freda Rebecca, the largest single gold mine in Zimbabwe and Trojan Nickel Mine through BNC, which is listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE),
ASA gained control of BNC and its assets in 2015 after taking over the miner’s holding company Mwana Africa and booting out its founder, Kalaa Mpinga.

In a cautionary statement to shareholders, BNC announced that it had reached a deal with a potential buyer.

“Asa Resource Group has entered into a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with a third party in relation to the 74,73% shareholding in BNC. The conditions of the SPA include various regulatory approvals and other conditions as expected with a transaction of this nature. The third party is a United Kingdom-based nickel company with complementary interests in Southern Africa,” the notice reads.

“Shareholders are advised to exercise caution when dealing in the company’s securities until a full announcement is made”.

In January this year, South African Gold producer Pan African Resources (Panaf) announced that it was in exclusive negotiations with ASA Resource Group to acquire assets and liabilities in Zimbabwe.

Panaf, a mainly gold miner which is listed on the Johannesburg and London stock exchanges, has operations in South Africa.

The group also has operations in Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Africa and Angola.

ASA has been operating under judicial management since July last year after struggling to service its obligations.

Last year, the board reported that $4,3 million was missing from Freda Rebecca Mine, with an audit showing that the then executive chairman Yat Hoi Ning and finance director Yim Kwan had irregularly transferred money to two Hong Kong-registered companies.

In the six months to September, BNC registered a 26% increase in profit after tax to $2,8 million, buoyed by firm mineral prices on the international market.

However, sales during the half year period were down 14% to 2 980 tonnes from 3 485 tonnes last year on the back of low production and logistical challenges in moving the product out of the country.

Cost of sales increased by 11% from $16,2 million last year, to $18 million in the period under review, mainly due to an increase in local costs. Production declined to 3 076 tonnes from 3 460 tonnes in 2017.

BNC has had to put its ambitious Smelter Restart Programme on hold because of the prevailing economic challenges.

source: NewsDay Zimbabwe

Miners affected by Zim drop from S&P?

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Miners affected by Zim drop from S&P?

…a major blow to the mining sector

S&P Dow Jones announced that they will be removing Zimbabwean domiciled companies from its indices from 24 December due to serious cash shortages in the country, high inflation of the bond money and foreign currency shortages.

What does this mean for the miner?

Dickson Rudairo Mapuranga

Miners are of the view that the move to remove Zimbabwean companies from Standard and Poor African indices will negatively impact on Zimbabwe’s development and investment opportunities in the mining sector, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices statement, Zimbabwean companies will be rated at zero price in 14 different indices thereby reducing the chances of Zimbabwe attracting foreign investors, the move according to experts will lead to Zimbabwe only attracting bogus investors mainly who have nothing to lose but more to gain due mining exploits.

According to one mining expert, this will to some extent affect Large Scale Mines particularly those partnered with publicly traded companies and small scale miners to a greater degree are safe, although the effect will be felt by every Zimbabwean, this will have a slim effect on Zimbabwe’s economy which already is in shambles.

“The truth is our risk rating was already unfavorable. Small Scale Mines will not be affected as much, private investment has always been measured differently regarding investment decisions into small scale operations, potential for return on investment being the major driving factor. Investment prospects for the Small Scale Miner in Zimbabwe will remain unaffected because of the great growth potential in our sector and opportunity to obtain significant returns, besides our type of investment has a higher risk tolerance and does not necessarily rely on S&P when making decisions.”

Some miners are of the view that, Standard and Poor is an American firm, under the authority of Americans, therefore, with United States’ current stance on Zimbabwe, it is bound to negatively portray Zimbabwe to the international community. However, miners are positive that this move will not affect the mining industry in anyway, since miners have been operating without the influence of S&P, and the fact that not all investors abide with S&P.

‘’… it’s an American company. America currently doesn’t view us in a good light, so I’m not surprised. Do you think all investors abide with this S&P thing? Definitely not. That’s why the Chinese and Russians are making so much headway into Africa.” Said one miner.

One mining expert said that, miners do not care about these ratings which mainly focuses on other firms that are not in the mining sector, the mining industry will sustain itself and can even go to become bigger and attract attention from these rating organisations.

“Personally I don’t care about S&P ratings, they never rated China until China was already too big for them to ignore.  Anyway, what I do agree on is the fact that we are going nowhere slowly” he said.

Falgold fails to publish financial results

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Falgold fails to publish financial results

LISTED miner Falcon Gold Zimbabwe has failed to publish its financial results for the financial year to September 30 this year, citing operational challenges which have been worsened by inadequate foreign currency allocations by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).

The company said the publication of results will now be expected after the end of 2018.

In a recent cautionary statement, the struggling firm said it was failing to pay creditors and was being cut off supply of critical operating inputs, thereby impacting normal operations.

“The directors of Falcon Gold Zimbabwe Limited (the “Company”) wish to advise all shareholders of the following pertinent matters, The Number 2 mill at the Golden Quarry processing plant (Shurugwi) had a catastrophic engineering failure late last week,” reads the statement.

“In the intervening period, management has been undertaking a full impact assessment and is now evaluating various options to deal with the matter at hand.
Notwithstanding this mill failure, to date the funding required to execute the 2019 financial budget has not been received by the company and discussions with regards this funding are ongoing”.

The Bulawayo-based mine owns Venice Mine in Kadoma; and Golden Quarry Mine located in Shurugwi.

Falgold is 84,7% owned by Canadian-listed New Dawn Mining Corporation.

For the six months ended March 31 2018, Falcon Gold Zimbabwe Limited reported revenue of $ 2,5 million down from $3,6 million recorded over the same period last year.
Loss from continuing operations before taxation was $ 1,6 million compared to $2,5 million in the prior year.

In 2016, Falgold disposed its Dalny Mine to one of the country’s top producers RioZim for $8million.

RioZim has also been facing similar challenges of inadequate foreign currency to meet its operational requirements.

The central bank has since reviewed the forex retention threshold of gold miners to 55% of export earnings from the previous 30% after the Chamber of Mines Zimbabwe, which represents large-scale miners warned of imminent closures and job losses in the extractive sector.

But as the dollar note shortage persists, some miners have only received part of their allocation from the central bank, while others have not received anything at all.
Outstanding foreign payments for gold producers are in excess of $15 million.

This year, the country is targeting output of 35 tonnes of gold, but hopes of achieving that target have been dented, because of the slump in production.

Mining contributes more than 60% of the country’s foreign earnings and the sector is expected to anchor revival of the southern African economy.

source: NewsDay Zimbabwe

Oil prices decline

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Oil prices decline

Oil prices fell yesterday after reports of swelling inventories and forecasts of record US and Russian output combined with a sharp sell-off in stock markets as the outlook for global growth deteriorated. US crude oil dropped $2,04, or 4,1 percent, to a low of $47,84, its weakest since September 2017. It recovered to around $49,28, down 60 cents, by 1420 GMT. North Sea Brent lost $2,41, or 4 percent, to $57,20, a 14-month low. Brent last traded around $59,01, also 60 cents lower.

Both oil benchmarks have shed more than 30 percent since early October due to swelling global inventories. World stock markets tumbled yesterday as fears about a slowing global economy gripped investors, just as the US Federal Reserve looked set this week to deliver its fourth interest-rate hike of the year.

Investor confidence is deteriorating with more fund managers expecting global growth to weaken over the next 12 months, the worst outlook in a decade, Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s December investor survey showed. Japan’s Nikkei lost 1,8 percent after US stocks dropped to their lowest in more than a year.

“A large part of the move is due to a broader market sell-off, with both US and Asian equity markets coming under pressure,” said commodities strategist Warren Patterson at Dutch bank ING in Amsterdam.  — Reuters.

Gold rises

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Gold rises

Gold rose to a one-week high yesterday, helped by a weaker US dollar and a fall in global stock markets, but moves were limited as investors sought clarity on the path of U.S. interest rates as concerns about a slowing global economy deepened.

Spot gold was up 0,1 percent at $1,247.06 per ounce at 1310 GMT, having earlier touched its highest since December 10 at $1,250.27, just short of a five-month peak of $1,250.55 hit last week. US gold futures were steady at $1,251.30 per ounce.

“There has been a slight increase in the minority view that the Fed might not raise rates, given the recent weakness in the equity markets. It would be quite a shock if they didn’t increase rates in this week’s meeting,” said Capital Economics analyst Ross Strachan.

“Most of the attention will be on how many more interest rates rises there may be next year.”

The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates for the fourth time this year at its two-day policy meeting ending on Wednesday. But weak stock markets and slowing global growth may prompt the central bank to signal a slowdown in rate increases.

“We have seen quite a broad-based sell-off across many other markets, from equities to other commodity markets, and an increase in risk aversion. In that climate, gold is edging gradually higher towards a multi-months peak,” Strachan said.

World stock markets tumbled as fears about a slowing global economy gripped investors, while the dollar index slipped 0,3 percent against a basket of major currencies. Gold tends to gain when interest rate hike expectations ease because lower rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion and weigh on the dollar, in which it is priced.

In euro terms, gold reached its highest since June at 1 100,57 euro an ounce. —Reuters.

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