Mining ZimbabweLatest Mining News, Policy and Industry Updates

The alleged Diamond discovery in Hurungwe is a Hoax.  Exactly a week ago a Whatsapp group “Ngoda PaZimbabwe” was formed alleging there was a diamond discovered in the Chidamoyo Hurungwe area.

The Whatsapp group quickly gained traction with many miners joining in asking for directions to the said area. A group link was shared on various Mining Platforms.

Mining Zimbabwe contacted some of the admins who said they also just heard and were preparing to travel to the said destination. It turns out the information was untrue.

A miner confronted the person who sent created the message and said,” This hoax was sent by a guy at Zvipani township and when I confronted on his inbox, he openly told me that, regai vanhu vauye timbotengerwawo (let people come and buy from us). He’s a businessman”.

Mining Zimbabwe tried to contact the Whatsapp group creator but his number has been unreachable.

Zimbabwe Miners Federation’s Mashonaland West chairperson Chiedza Chipangura was unavailable for comment as her phone went to voicemail.

Hurungwe has vast mineral resources including Amethyst, Beryl, Coal, Copper, Cordierite, Diatomite, Emerald, Garnet, Graphite, Gold, Kainite, Limestone, Mica, Sillimanite, Tantalum, Tin, Topaz, Tungsten, and Tungsten.

THE trial of gold dealer Baron Dube who allegedly shot and killed a member of a rival mining gang in Esigodini following a dispute, resumed yesterday at the Bulawayo High Court with the accused person trying to exonerate himself by claiming the firearm accidentally discharged.

Dube (44) of Habane Extension township appeared before Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Maxwell Takuva facing murder charges in connection with the death of Prince Antony Bvundura (22).

Dube, who is out on $2 000 bail, allegedly fatally shot Bvundura in September 2018 in the heat of a fight over a mining claim at Block 13 Atlas Mine in Esigodini.

He allegedly used a Voere 458 calibre rifle.

The shooting happened at a mine belonging to Mr. Tendai Musanangura and Dube said Mr. Musangangura had granted him the authority to occupy it. Mr. Musanangura however denied granting the authority.

Dube, who is being represented by Mr. Leopold Mudisi of Mutendi, Mudisi and Shumba Legal Practitioners, yesterday took to the witness stand and told the court that the firearm accidentally discharged after he stepped on a rock and fell down while fleeing from a mob, which was throwing stones at him while baying for his blood.

“I fell down while trying to run away from the illegal gold panners who were chasing me and in the process, the revolver, which was stashed in my shorts accidentally discharged after I fell into a pit. I didn’t realise that I shot a person until the following day when I was approached by police while trying to fill up the pits, which had been dug by the illegal gold panners,” he said.

Dube denied that he opened fire at his rivals during violent skirmishes, claiming he was the victim. He also denied that there was a gold rush at the mine.

“I was fleeing from the illegal gold panners who were conducting illegal mining activities at the mine which I was assigned to occupy by the owner,” he said.

Under cross-examination, Dube failed to justify why he had to arm himself since he purported that his intention was not to fight anyone.

Upon his arrest, he was found with a gun loaded with seven rounds of ammunition.

The prosecutor, Mrs. Sifiso Ndlovu-Sibanda said on September 26 in 2018, the deceased went to work at Block 13 Atlas Mine in Esigodini in the company of his workmates. On the same day, Dube arranged a gang of about 20 people so that they could disperse everyone and take over the mine where there was a gold rush.

“At about 11 PM, the accused person armed himself with two guns, a revolver and a rifle and his accomplices were carrying machetes, axes, shovels and picks. He drove to the mine in his Toyota Land cruiser with his gang and on arrival at the mine, he chased away all miners, claiming he had been granted authority to operate at the mine by the owner,” said Mrs. Ndlovu-Sibanda.

The court heard that the deceased, who was part of a group of miners fleeing during the skirmishes, was shot and he died on the spot.

According to the post mortem results, the cause of death was a gunshot wound, heart destruction and hypovolemic shock.

A State witness, Mr. Mkhululi Sibanda, in his testimony last year, told the court that Dube and his hired thugs chased away everyone at the mine, claiming the area was his.

Mr. Musanangura also denied giving Dube permission to enter his mining area when he took to the witness stand at the commencement of the trial in November last year.

The trial continues on June 22 with two defence witnesses expected to take to the witness stand.

The Chronicle

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor, Dr. John Mangudya, yesterday said the bank found a sustainable way to manage funds required to make consistent US dollar cash payments to small gold miners.

This came after RBZ unit, Fidelity Printers and Refiners, failed to pay small scale gold miners in the last two weeks, as limited flights into Zimbabwe, due to Covid-19, had affected the smooth importation of hard currency cash required to pay the miners.

Covid-19, a viral disease first detected in Wuhan, China, has killed hundreds of thousands and infected millions across the world, forcing Governments globally to enforce lockdowns to contain its spread, which has grounded airline operations and shuttered most economic sectors.

“The challenge has been resolved. We have found a sustainable solution to manage the availability of cash to be used to purchase the gold,” Dr Mangudya said.

Dr Mangudya also said paying for gold in forex will address issues around excessive money creation, which harms the exchange rate.

“The immediate benefit of paying in US dollars is that there would less creation of Zimbabwe dollars to purchase the gold, which means less pressure on the exchange rate.

“Less pressure on the exchange rate translates to its stability which results in price stability,” he said.

It was not immediately clear how much was owed to the small gold miners, but industry sources said the miners were owed significant amounts following at least two weeks of unpaid for gold deliveries.

This also comes as FPR said yesterday small scale and artisanal gold miners will now be paid 100 percent of their sales proceeds in hard currency cash, while primary producers will receive 70 percent of sales in hard currency into their nostros and the balance will be paid in local currency.

Small scale gold miners, many of whom are artisanal miners and do not have Nostro or ordinary bank accounts, will now get paid entirely in cash to entice them not to smuggle out the bullion at the expense of the country. Although they are small and use rudimentary and less sophisticated mining techniques and equipment, the miners account for 60 percent of Zimbabwe’s gold output.

Zimbabwe’s gold output dipped to 1 464,3kgs in April compared to 2 126,35kgs a year earlier.

During the period under review, small-scale miners produced 728,9 kgs, while large-scale miners produced 735,4 kgs. Zimbabwe targets 35 tonnes of production this year against 27 tonnes last year when earnings dropped to US$946 million.

Gold is Zimbabwe’s single largest foreign currency earner, accounting for nearly 30 percent of total annual foreign currency earnings (US$1,3 billion in 2019) and together with platinum generate over 60 mineral exports.

Zimbabwe Miners Federation ZMF chief executive Wellington Takavarasha, said in a letter to members last week that he had been told that limited inbound flights had affected importation of cash to pay miners.

“Due to the Covid- 19 pandemic, there has been a limited number of flights into the country and this has adversely affected their operations,” Mr Takavarasha said.

A LOCAL businessman has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by a Bindura magistrate for swindling his Singaporean business partner of an investment worth US$517 000.

Fradreck Utsiwegota (38) fraudulently changed the shareholding structure and sold the mining company’s assets using a fake writ of execution order.

He will spend seven years in jail after magistrate Tinashe Ndokera suspended three years on condition of good behaviour.

Ramason Bupedra, the Singaporean, had initially stopped his partner Utsiwegota from further selling company assets through his lawyers Augustine Borerwe and David Ngwerume.

The court heard that Utsiwegota had sold several assets which include mining stamp mills valued at US$81 000, generators valued US$25 000, vehicles valued US$102 000, motorbikes, water pumps and electric motors worth thousands of dollars.

Bupedra told the court that he formed Decade Mining in 2012 with Utsiwegota and David Barnett Silver, whose whereabouts are unknown.

On June 27, 2013, due to differences among the directors, Silver was barred by the High Court from acting as a director.

The company went on to acquire several assets that included trucks, mills, generators, compressors and water pumps.

In July of that same year, Bupedra left Zimbabwe for Singapore to attend to other business interests, leaving Utsiwegota in charge of their gold mill in Shamva.

During Bupedra’s absence, Utsiwegota would send him messages, urging him not to come back, claiming their mining business was facing political interference and that his life would be in danger.

Out of fear, Bupedra stayed away and only returned to the country in February 2018, following a change of government.

Upon his return, Utsiwegota allegedly told him that he had done a share swap deal with Silver and now owned 76%.

Bupedra went to the Registrar of Companies to verify the purported change, but the company file could not be located.

Bupedra then went to the company premises and discovered that several assets had been sold.

On enquiring, Bupedra was told that a fraudulent company called Utsi Mining Syndicate, purportedly owned by Utsiwegota’s brother, Emmanuel obtained an order against Decade Mining Company under a High Court matter which he did not know.

The Singaporean then went back to the Registrar of Companies to verify the Utsi Mining Syndicate shareholding and found out that the registration number used at the High Court was for a company called Dual Holdings whose directors are Denford Juru and Monalisa Chipatiso.

That is when he discovered that he had been duped by Utsiwegota and his brother Emmanuel who used a non-existent company to fraudulently obtain a court order used to strip Decade Mining of its assets.

Source: Newsday