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Three teens in machete murder dragnet

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Three teens in machete murder dragnet

A 24-year-old artisanal miner died on the spot after being brutally speared, axed, and hacked with machetes multiple times, in a suspected gang war in Kwekwe last Friday.

Police have arrested six artisanal miners including three teenagers following the gruesome murder of Edson Jephias of Redcliff town.

Gold turf wars at surrounding mines are believed to be behind the bloody clash.

The police have launched a manhunt for seven other suspects who fled from the scene after the horrific killing.

Midlands provincial police spokesperson Inspector Joel Goko confirmed receiving the report but referred this publication to the national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi for more details.

“Yes, I can confirm that we have arrested six accused people in connection with this murder and seven are still at large. We are appealing to members of the public who might have information that might lead to the arrest of the seven accused persons to approach their nearby police station so that we arrest them,” he said.

Asst Comm Nyathi was not available for comment.

Jephias, police sources said, was allegedly drinking beer in Kwekwe at a local bar with 14 members of his gang when one Tatenda arrived in his brother’s vehicle and reported that the car had been stoned by members of a rival gang known as the Grigambas which the accused persons belong to.

Jephias and his crew allegedly teamed up and went to seek revenge against the Grigambas resulting in the two gangs fighting with dangerous weapons.

The source said Jephias died after being stabbed with spears, cut up with machetes, and axed leading during the fight.

“Arrested were Cabinet Kamurai (17), Cephas Mansami (16), brothers Tafadzwa (26), and Obey Nhenga (27), Tobias Ncube (21) and Imidza Wasarira (16) all from Gokwe South,” said the source.

“The police have launched a manhunt for the other seven members of the Grigambas gang who fled from the scene.”

 

The Chronicle

Artisanal Miners Threaten Africa University Farming

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Artisanal Miners Threaten Africa University Farming

Officials at Africa University have raised a red flag over the encroachment of artisanal mining activities which are polluting the main water source for their campus agriculture farm.

Addressing journalists at a community reporting press club, Africa University’s Dean of Students George Miti said continuous illegal mining activities on the campus doorstep are becoming a menace.

Miti said they are having sleepless nights over the proximity of illegal gold mining activities.

He said the use of chemicals by the artisanal miners in Mutare River have caused sedimentation and siltation of the river affecting produce from the farm.

“We have a farm at the university where we grow our crops but we are having challenges as we get water from Mutare River. Our pipes are being vandalized because of polluted water due to the illegal mining activities, it’s affecting produce on our farming.

“Sometimes we end up having no network because cables which are underground would have been destroyed, and we are also worried of veld fires.

“We noticed rampant illegal gold mining and we have sought to engage. The mining activities are a mere stone’s throw away for our campus. There are various activities which are affecting us negatively.

“We are witnessing veld fires near the company, and we are in danger because the campus might catch fire.

“The water we use to irrigate from Mutare River has turned deep brown due to the chemicals which artisanal miners use, we even lost an upright pivot after using it for only one year,” said Miti.

Local representative Mutasa South MP Regai Tsunga (MDC Alliance) addressing the same gathering said these issues have been brought to his attention and should be treated as critical demanding all stakeholders’ input.

Tsunga said the proliferation of mining activities are borne out of economic hardships faced by unemployed youths.

He said he has already written a letter to the government and called for an all stakeholders meeting to address illegal mining activities at the campus.

“The issue of illegal mining is a big issue, illegal mining is difficult to stop because of the high unemployment rate in the country is at 90 percent with the youths the most affected group,” he said

“I have already written a letter to the government so that we correct the menace at Africa University and Mutasa district as well, l am calling for an all stakeholders meeting so that we address the menace,” he said.

Tsunga told the gathering that he has already received a complainant from the University of the Illegal Mining Activities_263Chat

Invictus to Commence Field Operations, Completion of Placement with Mangwana

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Invictus to Commence Field Operations, Completion of Placement with Mangwana

Australian listed oil and gas exploration company Invictus Energy Limited is set to commence a field reconnaissance program in the next fortnight at its Muzarabani Prospect.

Rudairo Mapuranga

The company has also completed a further placement for the equivalent of AUD$220k at a share price of $0.066 with the Mangwana Opportunities Fund under the second tranche of its equity funding agreement with the Zimbabwean funded investor.

According to a statement released by the oil and gas mining and exploration firm, the company’s Environmental Plan and final cultural ceremonies has been approved and completed respectively giving the company a green light to commence field operations.

“Commencement of field operations in the Cabora Bassa Project Following the approval of the Environmental Management Plan, easing of COVID-19 related restrictions and the completion of the final cultural ceremonies in the Muzarabani and Mbire Districts, the Company will commence field operations in the Cabora Bassa Basin.”

The company statement reads in part that, “the reconnaissance program and baseline survey consist of the traversing of the proposed infill seismic lines for a planned acquisition campaign in 2021 dry season. The program will capture details such as topography, existing access roads, drainage, vegetation cover, soil types, rock exposures, sampling of any natural oil and gas seeps, areas of development (constructions and cultivation), plus any sites of cultural, religious, or historic importance.”

The duration of the program is expected to be approximately 30 days and is in the final stages of planning and will be completed before the wet season.

Invictus Managing Director Scott Macmillan said,

“We are extremely pleased to commence our activity on the ground in the Cabora Bassa Project having now received all of the necessary approvals and restrictions in the country being eased. The Company has a window of opportunity to carry out a reconnaissance program prior to the onset of the rainy season so that we can map out the routes for the planned seismic acquisition campaign next year. This exercise will enable us to map out the optimal route ahead of the survey which will reduce the acquisition time and maximise the efficiency of the survey.

The Company is also pleased to have completed a second tranche of funding from the Mangwana Opportunities Fund at a premium of 10% to the previous closing share price. The funds will be used for the upcoming field program and general working capital.”

Completion of Placement with Mangwana Opportunities Fund

The Company has completed a further placement (Second Tranche) under the share subscription agreement announced on 30th April 2020. The placement raises the equivalent of $AUD 222,148 through the placement of 3,404,186 shares at a share price of $0.066; a 9% premium to the last closing price. The shares issued to Mangwana will be held in escrow for 6 months from the date of completion. The agreement makes provision for a further equity investment by Mangwana for the project over the next 12-24 months as well as assisting the Company in achieving its strategic goals in-country.”

Vast Resources’ Baita Plai Recommences Production

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Vast Resources’ Baita Plai Recommences Production

Vast Resources plc, the AIM-listed mining company,  is pleased to confirm that production has recommenced at its Baita Plai Polymetallic Mine (“Baita Plai”) in Romania.

Following the recommencement of mining, the Company can confirm that daily blasting has been implemented on the mineralised horizon of the Antonio skarn between 17 level and 18 level. The blasted ore is stored underground in both the working place silos and the surface silos. Transport of the ore from the surface silos to the flotation plant silos has commenced in preparation for the hot commissioning of the flotation plant expected to follow shortly.

In addition, the incline project has commenced on 18 level with daily blasts being achieved on the new underground development since 1 October 2020 according to plan. The incline is designed to provide access to the continuation of the Antonio skarn from 18 level down to 19 level and will provide a production base for the next four years.

Based on the success of the recommencement of mining activity, the Company can confirm that it is on track to meet its October production and sales targets as outlined in the project production and associated operational cashflow forecasts announced on 7 September 2020.

Andrew Prelea, Chief Executive Officer, Vast Resources PLC, commented:

“We are delighted that our Baita Plai operation is operational once more.  The swift action our team took to reconnect the mine and flotation plant meant that production was able to resume quickly, resulting in minimal downtime, and importantly, there is no expected impact on October production and sales targets.   With potentially one of the lowest operating costs globally, and significant resource expansion opportunities, Baita Plai has significant commercial potential and we are focussed on realising this inherent value for all stakeholders.”

Invictus CLEANSING NOTICE

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Invictus CLEANSING NOTICE

Invictus Energy Limited (“Invictus” or “the Company”), confirms that on 9 October 2020 it completed the issue of 9,124,186 fully paid ordinary shares in the capital of the Company. The Shares were allotted pursuant to an ASX announcement on 12 October 2020.

The Company gives notice pursuant to section 708A(5)(e) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act) that:

  1. the Company issued the Shares without disclosure under Part 6D.2 of the Corporations Act; and
  2. as at the date of this notice, the Company has complied with:

(a) the provisions of Chapter 2M of the Corporations Act as they apply to the

Company; and

(b) section 674 of the Corporations Act; and

  1. as at the date of this notice, there is no information to be disclosed which is excluded information (as defined in sections 708A (7) and 708A (8) of the Corporations Act) that is reasonable for investors and their professional advisers to expect to find in a disclosure document. ‘Excluded Information’ is information:

(a) that has been excluded from a continuous disclosure notice in accordance with the ASX Listing Rules; and

(b) that investors and their professional advisers would reasonably require for the purpose of making an informed assessment of:

(i) the assets and liabilities, financial position and performance, profits and losses and prospects of the Company; or

(ii) the rights and liabilities attaching to the Shares.

Nigeria pins hopes on first gold project to boost mining sector

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Nigeria pins hopes on first gold project to boost mining sector

Nigeria’s first industrial gold project is on course to enter production next year, and its success will be crucial for boosting mining in Africa’s biggest oil producer, the country’s mines minister said.

Thor Explorations Ltd. is spending $98 million to develop the project, which will have an annual average output of 80,000 ounces. The Canada-based company’s Segilola mine in the southwest should yield gold by the end of the first quarter of 2021, Minister of Mines and Steel Development Olamilekan Adegbite told reporters in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, on Friday.

The West African nation has sizable untapped deposits of metals including iron ore, gold, zinc and lead, but almost all extraction is done on a small-scale or manual basis. The government wants to increase mining’s contribution to gross domestic product to 3% by 2025, from less than 0.1% currently.

Thor is “the proverbial company that dares to jump in the shark-infested water and see whether it survives,” Adegbite said. Progress at Segilola will be key to attracting other mining companies to Nigeria, which offers incentives including tax holidays and customs waivers on imported equipment, he said.

Successive administrations have pledged to grow mining’s role in the economy since Nigeria restored multi-party democracy in 1999. Legislation to expand the sector was passed more than a decade ago.

Lagos-based Africa Finance Corp. is backing Thor through a $86 million debt-equity financing package.

(By William Clowes)Bloomberg News

Lucapa Diamond restarts Mothae mine in Lesotho

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Lucapa Diamond restarts Mothae mine in Lesotho

Australia’s Lucapa Diamond (ASX: LOM) is restarting operations at its Mothae mine in Lesotho, Africa, which had been halted since late March to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The Perth-based company said it plans to escalate operations at the mine to 75% capacity as some covid-19 restrictions remain in place.

LUCAPA PLANS TO ESCALATE OPERATIONS AT THE MINE TO 75% CAPACITY AS SOME COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS IN LESOTHO REMAIN IN PLACE

Commercial production at Mothae, which the Perth-based company acquired in early 2017, began in January last year, with the opening of a new 1.1 million tonne-per-year plant that is progressively ramping up to its nameplate capacity.

It produced more than 30,000 carats in its first year of operations, including three diamonds of more than 100 carats each.

Lucapa has a 70% stake in the operation. The government of Lesotho owns the remaining 30%.

The mine is located only 5km from Gem Diamonds’ (LON:GEMD) Letšeng, the world’s highest dollar-per-carat kimberlite diamond mine.

The company also has a 40% stake in the prolific Lulo mine in Angola, where operations resumed partially in May_Mining.com

Ema seeks to stop riverbed mining at Umzingwane river

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Ema seeks to stop riverbed mining at Umzingwane river

THE Environmental Management Agency (Ema) is concerned with damage caused by riverbed mining, at the confluence of Insiza and Umzingwane rivers in Matabeleland South saying that poses serious health risks for people downstream and those who the rivers supply with water.

Last month Government banned all riverbed alluvial and riverbed mining on rivers with immediate effect, except on the Save and Angwa rivers where desiltation will be allowed under very strict conditions. However, at the confluence of these Matabeleland South two rivers, it seems illegal gold miners had been carrying on their activities, which uses mercury to process the precious metal. Ema Matabeleland South Provincial Environmental manager Mr Decent Ndlovu said there were worried about the health of communities downstream of the river.

“We are worried about communities downstream and this mining is associated with the use of mercury and we have such big numbers in such a place, with no toilets or anything. We have the reservoir that supplies Collen Bawn Town, West Nicholson and surrounding areas both affected,” said Mr Ndlovu.

Environmentalists say mercury affects the body’s nervous system and may lead to pregnant mothers giving birth to deformed babies.

According to Mr Ndlovu, when mercury contaminates water its next to impossible to purify it. He said Ema together with the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) were working to enforce the law on riverbed mining. Mr Ndlovu said there were more than 15 mine shafts that have been dug by illegal miners at the confluence.

“This place which is in the confluence of Insiza and Umzingwane River has been seriously degraded by illegal miners where shafts measuring between 30 to 50 metres have been dug in the river bed. There are more than 15 shafts which is a massive degradation of the environment, threatening the weir that provides water to Zimbabwe National Water Authority (catchment area), which is just in the vicinity downstream,” said Mr Ndlovu.

He added that Ema was in the process of rehabilitating the area. He encouraged illegal miners to register with the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development.

“We encourage them (illegal miners) to approach the ministry of mines where they’ll be given the necessary paperwork or place to mine, in such a riverbed they may be given special grants, but currently alluvial and riverbed mining is prohibited. So, we have come in to make sure that this doesn’t continue,”_Sunday News

YMF to set up academy for young miners

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YMF to set up academy for young miners

THE Young Miners Foundation (YMF) is working on setting up a young miners’ academy in Zvishavane as part of efforts to accelerate skills development and professionalism among budding miners.

This comes at a time when most young small-scale and artisanal miners who lack skills are injured, trapped or die when mining shafts they are working in collapse.

In an interview, Young Miners Foundation (YMF) chief executive officer Mr Payne Kupfuwa said the academy which is in the process of being set up will start enrolling students at the beginning of next year.

“We have identified a venue where we can start the academy here in Zvishavane. We are currently working on the modules and tutorials that will be undertaken by the students, as our first enrolment will be January 2021. After training the students will be awarded certificates, but these certificates should be equipping certificates similar to the ones received at vocational training centres. Lack of skills remains a major impediment to the desired growth of the mining industry, which is one of Zimbabwe’s key export sectors.

“As a way of encouraging professionalism and proper mining entrepreneurs, the academy will be fulfilling YMF’s dream of developing 21st-century young mineral magnets as a stimulus to other productive enterprises in the country,” said Mr Kupfuwa.

He added that the organisation was also in the process of setting up a gold mining centre in Zvishavane.

“We are working on establishing a young miners gold processing centre in Zvishavane by December which will boost minerals output as well as curb leakages. More gold processing centres will be rolled out further around the country whereby they will stand as a benchmark of the kind of mining young people need,” he said.

Mr Kupfuwa also said as a way of increasing skills development among miners, YMF would be rolling out young miners’ workshops.

“We will be having a young miners indaba from 20 to 27 November. This will be a platform where we will bring all young miners and corporate family members together to discuss issues on how best we can come up with investment models to support small-scale mining initiatives. Mining should be viewed as a career or business for these young miners so we will also discuss prospective investors either locally or internationally.

“Young miners are lacking proper capitalisation to boost their projects, so we want to come together and discuss how best we can come up with investment packages that attract investors who can develop our small-scale mining into medium or large-scale mining. Since 1980 there has not been much progress in developing small-scale mining into medium-scale mining by young miners, the mindset to stay small has been the major problem. Every effort, entrepreneurial skill, professionalism is needed for young miners to develop.”_Sunday News

Legal trouble for Togarepi

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Legal trouble for Togarepi

Former Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) Mashonaland Central Youth Chairperson Blessing Togarepi has been served with a notice to cease and desist from mentioning, mounting malicious misrepresentations and attacks against the ZMF and its officials on social media platforms.

D Mthombeni Legal Practitioners under instruction from the ZMF notified Togarepi to cease and desist from putting the name of the Federation into disrepute.

“Notice to cease and desist mentioning, mounting malicious misrepresentations and attacks against the Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) or any of its officials on social media platforms,” said the notice.

The Legal Practitioners have also warned Togarepi from tarnishing the image of ZMF officials and its President.

“Especially tarnish the image of both clients and its officials, in particular, Ms Henrietta Rushwaya. The client has since forwarded to us some of those audio recorded clips which you shared on WhatsApp,” read the urgent notice.

The notice also advises Togarepi to address any mining issues with relevant authorities.

After a series of rants, Togarepi accused the ZMF President of blocking him on Whatsapp to which the letter responded clearly stating the blockade was due to constant harassment Rushwaya received from Blessing.

“Miss Rushwaya had to block you from her phone for the nuisance that you (Togarepi) had allegedly become because she could not stand your relentless harassment,” read part of the notice.

In a WhatsApp audio message shared on mining platforms which is suspected to have finally triggered the notice, Togarepi bizarrely expressed his anger towards a Mines and Minerals bill that was expected to be tabled to parliament and last month, accused ZMF of being complicit. The bill, which has not yet been revealed or made public will be unveiled at an event that will have stakeholders giving their input before being passed.

Speaking to Legislators on the delays of the bill recently, the Deputy Attorney General Nelson Diaz told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines that the delays were due to understaffing as he had only four junior lawyers to do drafting in his department.  He also said that his department was also inundated with several other laws that needed drafting like the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill and they Cyber Crime and Cyber Security Bill which are now before Parliament.

To add insult to injury Togarepi in a WhatsApp audio confirmed receiving the notice and proceeded to blast the D Mthombeni Legal Practitioners for “leaking” the documents on WhatsApp platforms. He accused the Law firm of being unethical.

“I received a letter at the office yesterday (Saturday) and now I see the letter circulating in media. These law firms are not ethical…” he said.

An anonymous miner who chose not to be named expressed disappointment over the way Togarepi was manufacturing trouble for himself.

“It is most regrettable and unfortunate that Togarepi has mounted a personal attack against lawyers whose only ‘fault’ was to execute client instructions. He has gone into overdrive making false accusations against the law firm that was instructed by ZMF to write to him demanding that he cease and desist his inappropriate conduct. Togarepi has failed to provide any factual basis for attacking the professional, ethical integrity of the lawyers when challenged to do so other than making malicious, defamatory accusations. Most shockingly Togarepi has chosen to fight the messenger and has never disputed the contents of the letter and allegations made by ZMF and its officials”.

Meanwhile ZMF lawyers D Mthombeni Legal Practitioners refused to comment on the matter when contacted for comment citing professional reasons. “Issues are dealt with in and through appropriate forums or channels and not through the Media,” said Mthombeni.

Togarepi late last year from an uninformed position attacked the current Minister of Mines and Mining Development Hon Winston Chitando through a series of audios sent on social labelling him a sell-out for issuing EPOs which he claimed were issued by the Minister yet since 1994 no EPO has been gazetted.

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