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Shocking state of geological maps at Chinhoyi Ministry of mines

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Shocking state of geological maps at Chinhoyi Ministry of mines

The notion by many citizens that it is high time for the country to move from the archaic system of holding government documents only on paper into a computerised system has proven to be something that needs to be done as a matter of urgency.

When Mining Zimbabwe visited Mashonaland West Ministry of Mines and Mining Development offices in Chinhoyi we were shocked at the state of Geological Maps at the institution.

Zimbabwe geological map
Geological map 1
Zimbabwe geological map
Geological map 2

The Ministry’s provincial office has only a handful of proper maps, the rest are torn from old age and should be discarded. The maps were from Rhodesia meaning as the post-independent Zimbabwe no maps have ever been developed or any more geological surveys?

The state of geological maps in one of the areas that are considered to be very rich in minerals is a cause for concern for the government not to see that the country is in urgent need for a computerised culture in doing business.

Zimbabwe geological maps
Geological map 4

 

 

 

 

Geological map (notice RHODESIA on the map)

The government of Zimbabwe recently projected the USD12 billion mining industry by 2023 and serious steps need to be taken in repairing some of the urgent tasks. Digitalisation of mining titles, geological maps, registration online and uploading mining geologicals online needs urgent attention to ensure smooth flowing of the critical sector.

One advantage of digitalising the maps is the maps can be constantly updated without the need for printing new maps all the time.

The current Minister of Mines and Mining Development Hon Winston Chitando said the Ministry will be fully computerised by the end of 2021.

Chasi justifies Gata appointment

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Chasi justifies Gata appointment

Energy and Power Development Minister Fortune Chasi has defended the appointment of Dr Sydney Zukuzo Gata as executive chairman to the Zesa Holdings (Pvt) Ltd board saying his decision was informed by the need to bring somebody with a clearer and thorough understanding of the goings on at the power utility.

Dr Gata who has previously saved as both Chief Executive and Executive Chairman of the power utility and many have seen his reappointment at a time Zesa is faced with a myriad of challenges that have resulted in crippling power outages as a step backwards.

But in an interview on the sidelines of his inaugural meeting with the 10 member board, Minister Chasi lept to Dr Gata’s defence describing him as the best man for the job.

“What has informed my decision is that I need somebody who has a very clear and thorough understanding of the workings of ZESA and I found that in Dr. Gata,” said Minister Chasi.

“I also needed somebody who will break the barriers, who is not bureaucratic, who understand and is current regarding what Government is looking at with regards to Zesa.

“Somebody who is fast paced who has got the energy to deal with the myriad of issues that are at Zesa,” he said.

China’s Saudi crude imports rise 76% in October on increasing demand

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China’s Saudi crude imports rise 76% in October on increasing demand

China’s crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia rose 76.3% in October, boosted by demand from new refiners, with the kingdom retaining its position as the top supplier to the world’s biggest oil importer.

Saudi shipments grew to 8.41 million tonnes, or 1.98 million barrels per day (bpd), compared with 1.74 million bpd in September and 1.12 million bpd in same period last year, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Monday.

Two new integrated independent refineries, Hengli Petrochemical Co in the north and Zhejiang Petrochemical in the south, have supported crude arrivals from Saudi.

The impact of a drone and missile attack on Saudi oil-processing plants on Sept. 14 did not limit October oil flows, as Saudi Aramco drew on inventories to maintain supplies to customers.

Analysts from the Refinitiv Oil Research team expect the supply disruption in Saudi may start to show in cargo arrivals in November.

Chinese customs did not give a number for Venezuelan crude imports but analysts expect the figure to have fallen to zero last month as buyers stopped taking oil from the South American exporter amid sanctions imposed by the United States.

Imports from Iran remained stable at 532,790 tonnes in October, just below 538,878 tonnes in September, despite persistent tensions between Washington and Tehran.

China’s Malaysian crude imports in October doubled from the last year’s level, reaching 1.95 million tonnes.

Shipments from Malaysia, such as Mal blend and Singma blend, are typically a mixture of Venezuelan, Iranian and other grades, according to Emma Li, senior oil analyst with Refinitiv.

“Direct imports from Venezuela have been cut to zero but (demand for) Mal blend remains strong, which is reflected in the Malaysia number,” said Li.

The Refinitiv research team also expects Malaysian arrivals to reach a record as a result of U.S. sanctions on exports of Iranian and Venezuelan crude.

Imports of U.S. crude in October reached 908,422 tonnes, up from 517,982 tonnes in September.

Arrivals of Russian crude rose to 6.97 million tonnes from 6.31 million tonnes in previous month.  – Reuters

Gold softens as trade deal signs boost equities, dollar

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Gold softens as trade deal signs boost equities, dollar

Gold prices eased on today and were hovering close to a two-week low touched in the previous session as increasing signals that an interim trade deal could be reached soon buoyed riskier assets and the U.S. dollar.

Spot gold fell 0.1% to $1,459.10 per ounce. U.S. gold futures also shed 0.1% to $1,459.20.

Having dropped to a two-week low of $1,450.30 earlier on Tuesday, gold prices bounced back to settle higher and end a four-session losing streak.

“The decline of today is relatively small and can be seen as a consolidation after yesterday’s recovery,” said Carlo Alberto De Casa, chief analyst at ActivTrades, adding that rising share prices and a recovering dollar were relatively bearish for gold.

“What’s important is that prices are holding above $1,450… If prices fall below $1,445, then there will be a clear signal that we are entering a danger zone,” De Casa said, adding the markets are waiting for further details on the trade talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Washington was in the “final throes” of a deal that would defuse the 16-month tariff dispute with Beijing.

Expectations for an imminent closure to the long-drawn trade dispute encouraged world shares to make another push for a record high on Wednesday and supported the U.S. dollar against its key rivals.

Any increase in appetite for risk-bearing assets tends to weigh on safe-havens such as gold and yen, while a strong U.S. currency makes greenback-denominated bullion costlier for investors holding other currencies.

But market participants were still wary that bills passed by the United States supporting anti-government protesters in Hong Kong could complicate negotiations.

“Overall though, gold remains in the doldrums, entirely at the mercy of movements in other markets,” Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst, Asia Pacific at OANDA said in a note.

“Critical support remains at $1,445 an ounce with formidable technical resistance remaining at $1,480 an ounce. Gold is adrift, with neither sail nor a following breeze, between these levels.”

Investors were also awaiting the Fed’s Beige Book of economic conditions among other data due later in the day.

The U.S. central bank had cut the benchmark rates for the third times this year before signalling a pause, adding another cut would be unlikely unless there was a downturn in the economy.

Elsewhere, silver shed 0.2% to $17.04 per ounce.

Palladium fell 0.6% to $1,799.59 an ounce, having surged to a three-week high on Tuesday, while platinum was down 0.5% to $903.31.

CNBC

Chamber of mines appeals to ZESA to honour electricity-supply contracts

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Chamber of mines appeals to ZESA to honour electricity-supply contracts

The Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines has appealed to the government for help after ZESA Holdings failed to honour electricity-supply contracts.

In a letter written to Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube, the Chamber of Mines revealed that some companies are going for 3 days a week without power and if the situation persists, mineral production will fall by as much as 30% this year.

“We are also appealing for increased power allocation to the mining sector in line with anticipated increased mineral production in 2020”. The Chamber said.

However, Zesa’s acting chief executive officer, Patrick Chivaura, has disputed the miners’ position, insisting that the miners are paying less than a third of the US$11 million they agreed to pay each month for electricity.

Electricity is one of the major reasons why this year Zimbabwe is facing major gold submissions decline.

newZWire

 

Kuwadzana ext 7 built on a pegged mine

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Kuwadzana ext 7 built on a pegged mine

Part of Kuwadzana in Harare is built on a pegged mine. This is evidenced by a clear peg in Kuwadzana ext 7 in the Harare – Bulawayo highway just before Kuwadzana extension.

The peg dates 18/1/1960 11727 REG: BM and mineral pegged for is Cement.

See images below:-

Kuwadzana Ext 7 Mine

Kuwadzana Ext 7 Mine
Kuwadzana Ext 7 Mine peg
Kuwadzana Ext 7 mine peg
Kuwadzana Ext 7 mine peg

 

Gold rebounds from 2-week lows

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Gold rebounds from 2-week lows

Gold edged higher through the early European session on Tuesday and is currently placed near the top end of its daily trading range, around the $1458-59 region.

A combination of supporting factors helped the precious metal to reverse an early dip to fresh two-week lows, around the $1451 region. The commodity turned positive for the day, snapping four consecutive days of losing streak, and has now recovered a major part of the overnight downfall.

Reviving safe-haven demand helped gain some traction

As investors looked past the recent positive US-China trade-related headlines, a softer tone around equity markets underpinned demand for traditional safe-haven assets. Reviving safe-haven demand helped the commodity to stall its recent downfall back closer to multi-month lows, tested earlier this month.

The prevalent cautious mood was further reinforced by a pullback in the US Treasury bond yields, which further drove flows towards the non-yielding yellow metal. Meanwhile, a subdued US dollar demand did little to hinder the intraday recovery move for the dollar-denominated commodity.

It, however, remains to be seen if the commodity is able to capitalize on the momentum or the attempted recovery move is still seen as a selling opportunity. Renewed hopes for a partial US-China trade deal might eventually turn out to be one of the key factors capping any strong gains.

Moving ahead, the US economic docket – featuring the release of the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index and Richmond Manufacturing Index – will now be looked upon for some meaningful trading opportunities later during the North-American session on Tuesday.

Technical levels to watch

XAU/USD

OVERVIEW
Today last price1457.6
Today Daily Change2.62
Today Daily Change %0.18
Today daily open1454.98
TRENDS
Daily SMA201476.85
Daily SMA501489.37
Daily SMA1001482.95
Daily SMA2001398.87
LEVELS
Previous Daily High1462.58
Previous Daily Low1454.1
Previous Weekly High1478.86
Previous Weekly Low1456.54
Previous Monthly High1519.04
Previous Monthly Low1455.5
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%1457.34
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%1459.34
Daily Pivot Point S11451.86
Daily Pivot Point S21448.74
Daily Pivot Point S31443.37
Daily Pivot Point R11460.34
Daily Pivot Point R21465.71
Daily Pivot Point R31468.83

 

 

Fidelity falls victim to vehicle import scam

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Fidelity falls victim to vehicle import scam

The country’s sole gold buyer and exporter Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR) fell victim to vehicle import scam took delivery of luxury vehicles supplied by a local car dealer, Solutions Motors which illicitly imported the vehicles without paying customs duty.

The matter came to light after ZIMRA published a list of companies who were supposed to bring the  vehicles together with all customs clearance documents pertaining to their vehicles no later than 23 November 2019.

The ZIMRA statement released at the time read as follows, “The Commissioner-General of the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority is hereby notifying the owners of vehicles listed below to visit ZIMRA Loss Control Offices at ZB Centre corner First Street and Kwame Nkrumah in Harare for vehicle registration verification. The vehicle owners are instructed to bring the vehicle together with all customs clearance documents pertaining to their vehicles no later than 23 November 2019”.

FPR and another government institution Zimseza were supplied with Toyota Hilux vehicles by the car dealer who contravened the Customs and Excise Act by not paying duty at the border post.

FPR chief executive Fredrick Kunaka told Newsday that “I will not be able to say you are correct because ordinarily if a vehicle is registered. I wouldn’t tell if duty was paid or not. That I wouldn’t be aware, I would not be able to say whether what you saying is correct,” he said.

The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) have impounded 102 vehicles this week believed to have been smuggled into the country by car dealers in and around the city.

This comes after the anti-graft body and the authority launched a crackdown targeting suspected smuggled vehicles which were mostly being sold at car sales. The 102 vehicles were impounded from car sales namely—Washnet, Emri, Prince Edward and one located at the intersection of Mazowe Street and Tongogara Avenue.

At Washnet, 14 cars were impounded, Emri (49), Prince Edward (19) while on the fourth one, 19 cars were impounded. In an interview, Zacc spokesperson Commissioner John Makamure confirmed the developments saying the crackdown is continuing and arrests will be made once investigations have been completed.

 

Kadoma, Chegutu lead on Machete related crimes

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Kadoma, Chegutu lead on Machete related crimes

Statistics from police show that in Kadoma, 224 machete-related crimes were recorded from January to November this year.

This was revealed by the Justice Minister Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi. He said, “As Government, we are extremely disturbed by the illegal activities of artisanal miners who continuously terrorise people using machetes,” he said.

“I call for an intertwined relationship between the ZRP, Judicial Service Commission, prosecuting authorities, mining authorities and other stakeholders to thwart their criminal activities.”

Chegutu District recorded an increase in machete-related crimes from 108 cases last year to 125 cases this year. Mining areas and nearby beer outlets top the list of the most affected areas, with assaults, robberies, attempted murder and murder cases dominating the list.

Recently a Chegutu based Machete attackers leader Taurai Mutandwa was shot dead in a gun exchange with the police during a gold rush near David Whitehead in Chegutu. There had been a gold rush which increased machete crimes with seven people getting injured in machete wars between artisanal miners during the gold rush, while 33 were arrested.

Zimbabwe Miners Federation youth chairman Mr Timothy Chizuzu condemned the use of machetes by artisanal miners and called for stiffer penalties on perpetrators.

“As ZMF youths, we condemn the use of machetes on other citizens and fellow miners,” he said.

“This has tarnished the image of all miners and is against our ethics.

“Sanity should prevail in our mining industry as we support the Government in boosting investor confidence. We appeal to the Government to consider putting stiffer penalties for perpetrators.”

Mr. Chizuzu proposed that perpetrators should not be granted bail, but get no less than five years in jail.

The government has since moved to ban Machetes in gold-rich areas and those carrying them will be jailed under new laws. Besides the ban and mandatory jail terms, the Government is considering setting up special courts to ensure such cases are dealt with quickly and effectively.

 

 

Mthuli Ncube confident of $12 billion dollar minerals industry by 2023

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Mthuli Ncube confident of $12 billion dollar minerals industry by 2023

FINANCE Minister Mthuli Ncube has expressed confidence he could steer the country’s mining industry into a lucrative US$12 billion one by 2023.

Speaking to journalists at his New Government Complex offices in Harare Friday, Ncube said the government was excited about the prospects.

“The mining sector is really a source of excitement for us. We are trying to build a US$12 billion industry by the year 2023 and it is being constructed as I speak, brick by brick, bottom-up,” Ncube said.

“The gold sector will become a US$4 billion industry, platinum sector a US$3 billion industry, the lithium sector a half a billion-dollar industry, the diamond sector will be a billion-dollar industry, the iron and steel and chrome industry another billion, the hydrocarbons and gas sectors another billion.

“The other sectors about one and a half billion, so a total of 12 billion that we are expecting this sector to achieve by the year 2023.”

Zimbabwe has the second-largest reserves of gold, standing at a proven 13 million tonnes but a dip in investments within the sector has seen a steady drop in revenue realised.

Ncube said mining of precious minerals will be supported through the government’s Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ).

He announced during his recent budget presentation a reduction in royalties for gold from 15% to 10%.

Endowed with a wide range of precious minerals, the government’s opaque dealings especially in diamond mining in Marange and Chiadzwa and alleged capturing of gold-rich areas in the Midlands Province by top state officials has seen them not benefit the ordinary citizen.

Memoranda of Agreements (MoUs) signed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa by Russians and Chinese on mineral explorations, mining and beneficiation are yet to materialise.

 

NewZimbabwe

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