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Mines Ministry Perm sec implicated in gold mining claims scandal

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Mines Ministry Perm sec implicated in gold mining claims scandal

Mines and Mining Development Permanent Secretary Onesimo Mazai Moyo and three other senior employees have been sucked in a scandal in Midlands province regarding double allocation of gold mine claims, Zim Morning Post has learnt.

The syndicate involved Moyo along with Provincial Mining Director (PMD) Midlands Province Nelson Munyanduri and Alfred Tavengana who is employed as a surveyor by the ministry.

The trio allegedly received bribes from a company called AGKK Mining Syndicate to unlawfully grab a mine belonging to one Fungai Bangidza in Kwekwe.

According to papers seen by this publication, Munyanduri and Tavengana are said to have abused their office by giving AGKK a prospecting license to the mine with full knowledge that the mine belonged to Bangidza.

“The owner has approached the ministry officials but the perm sec has been a stumbling block because he is siding with the PMD,” the source told this publcation.

“The problem is that money exchanged hands from the provincial offices up to the national level,” the source said adding “The dispute has now been brought before mines minister Winston Chitando.”

Investigations by the Zim Morning Post also revealed that the Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission has been alerted over the matter.

The two are said to have allocated the claim identified as Glen Arroch to AGKK, regardless of an existing dispute which barred its allocation to any other party.

Armed with full knowledge of the situation on the ground, Munyanduri proceeded to allocate the mine and defied the letter that was written to him by Bangidza advising him that the allocation was illegal.

Bangidza advised in the letter that he was the rightful occupant of the mining claim pending a High Court ruling.

In July 2019, using his powers,  Munyanduri further wrote a letter to the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Midlands province instructing them to stop Bangidza from operating on his mine to pave way for AGKK to operate.

A court order was eventually given in August 2019 to bar activity at the mine but Munyanduri went ahead and processed a mining license certificate for AGKK.

Sources within the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development claim that the permanent secretary was aware of the problem in Midlands Province since it was not the first time a claim had been allocated to more than one person.

The secretary is believed to be working with the directors to make sure that their syndicate loot minerals during a court process, as it took longer.

The matter is still before the courts.

Access to finance key for small-scale miners

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Access to finance key for small-scale miners

Stakeholders in the small-scale mining sector see access to finance and technology as key in taking advantage of growth opportunities at a time Zimbabwe is angling for a US$12 billion in the sector by 2023.

This is in addition to the vast mineral resources Zimbabwe possess that if exploited, can boost the country’s foreign currency earnings.

A survey by the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) titled “The Economy We Want” highlights that opportunities for economic and social transformation from a citizen’s perspective vary with each sector.

Small-scale miners bemoan lack of access to loans, which if made available for procurement of machinery and expansion projects, could be a game-changer for the sector that contributes over half of the gold delivered to Fidelity Printers.

The survey notes that: “6.81 per cent of the respondents from the mining sector saw an opportunity for growth through leveraging of the abundant minerals to stimulate socio-economic growth as a result of Government support to small-scale miners with loan facilities and access to technology.”

Interestingly, as part of the $18 billion economic recovery and stimulus package in the wake of Covid-19, the Government has allocated $1 billion to the mining sector through a credit facility for the gold sector targeting both small and large-scale miners.

Small-scale miners said the facility would bring a huge relief to their operations as they have been hard hit by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) secretary-general, Mr Philemon Mokuele, however, told The Chronicle that there was a need for the Government to ensure the fund was properly administered and benefited the right people.

Access to finance has always been a stumbling block for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) across all the economic sectors despite their enormous contribution to the economy.

In agriculture, small-scale producers have a critical role in the production of both food and non-food crops.

According to the ZIMCODD survey, 8.6 per cent that represented the farming community believe growth opportunities lie in equal allocation and distribution of inputs with emphasis on Government-led programmes such as the Command Agriculture.

“Agricultural inputs must be distributed and allocated proportionally according to the land one productively uses in a non-partisan manner. Additionally, market linkages were another opportunity noted by farmers since most small-scale farmers bemoaned the fact that they struggle to access markets to sell their produce at a fair and competitive price,” reads part of the survey.

Access to fair markets was also cited as critical to ensure farmers sell their produce at an open market which results in competitive prices and therefore improved quality of produce brought to the market by farmers in an effort to fetch higher prices.

Women and youth who represented 14.53 percent and 22.7 percent of the respondents respectively also saw an opportunity of leveraging on their numbers through effective participation and advocacy to influence economic policy formulation and implementation. The role of the media cannot be overlooked in all these processes to disseminate information and shape policy formulation.

Said ZIMCODD: “The media plays a critical role of ensuring that information reaches people as such involving them at all levels across all sectors warrants that they have access to first-hand information which means citizens access credible information from reliable sources at all times.”

Policeman dies at illegal mining site

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Policeman dies at illegal mining site

A police officer attached to the CID Minerals Flora and Fauna Unit was on Wednesday trapped to death when the ground he was standing on carved and gave in at Magobo illegal mining site in Shamva.

Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the team was carrying out investigations in Shamva when the incident happened.

The ground he was standing on gave in and he was trapped. His body was retrieved yesterday. Ass Comm Nyathi said his name is withheld until his next of kin is informed.

BREAKING: Zimbabwe remains under level two lock-down

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BREAKING: Zimbabwe remains under level two lock-down

President Mnangagwa has announced that the Zimbabwe lock-down will remain on level two. Speaking LIVE the President said the lock-down has affected incomes and livelihoods of Zimbabweans however it is necessary to keep safe.

Key announcements

  1. The informal sector players should register formally for them to resume operations
  2. Gathering of places of worship remain at 50
  3. People should travel only when absolutely necessary
  4. Rentals should now be paid in full

 

https://www.facebook.com/zimbabwebroadcastingcorporation/videos/262756904805625/

Bogus gold buyers nabbed at Roadblock

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Bogus gold buyers nabbed at Roadblock

Four bogus gold buyers were arraigned before Guruve resident magistrate Shingirai Mutiro yesterday for defrauding gold dealers.

The four Chimanga Isaac (30), Chibwe Nyasha(28), Mutariswa Tinotenda(32) and Magaisa Brighton (30) pleaded not guilty to two charges fraud and possession of articles for criminal use.

They were remanded in custody to June 23 for trial.

Prosecutor Albert Mazhindu alleged that on March 15 the suspects came to Mvurwi purporting to be gold buyers and defraud Samuel Tumbare and Moreblessing Mutunwa of their 180 grams of gold by paying them counterfeit  US$4800.

The complainants discovered that they had been duped and filed a police report at Mazowe police station.

Working on a tip-off on June 8 detectives from Mvurwi intercepted the four at a roadblock while driving a Honda Fit registration number AEW 9284.

A search was conducted and counterfeit gold weighing 13 250 grams was recovered.

Byo24

Chamber of Mines presidium re-elected unopposed

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Chamber of Mines presidium re-elected unopposed

MIMOSA Mining Company executive, Ms Elizabeth Nerwande, along with her leadership at the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe (CoMZ) were recently re-elected into office for their second and final term without contestation.

This followed a virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) convened by the executive committee for the Chamber on the 28th of May 2020, during which the membership reposed its confidence Ms. Nerwande (president), Engineer Demand Gwatinetsa (vice president), Mr. Colin Chibafa (vice president) and Mr. Batirai Manhando (immediate past president).

In her acceptance speech, Ms. Nerwande expressed her gratitude to the executive committee of the Chamber for the confidence in re-electing her and the rest of the presidium.

Ms. Nerwande said together with the entire team at the Chamber they have the daunting task of navigating through the obtaining difficult operating environment characterised by power disruptions, inadequate foreign exchange allocations, high-cost structures and capital shortages.

She said her role and that of the rest of the presidium remains that of energising the team at the Chamber, working as a collective and tapping into the expertise and experience of each one of them.

The current presidium was elected into office around the same time last year and has done commendably well in engaging stakeholders within and outside of the mining sector in dealing with issues that are pertinent to the sector.

The COVID-19 pandemic is, however, posing more headaches for the sector which has had to re-organise itself in order to stay afloat.

With all indications suggesting COVID-19 will be with us for some time, Ms. Nerwande said the mining sector must contend with “a new normal which demands that as we pursue our various economic agendas, we must also safeguarding the health of our employees and the surrounding community at large”.

“As miners, it is in our interest to support the health sector to safeguard ourselves and the nation at large. We continue to put in place contingency measures directed at ensuring minimal disruption towards production, whilst continuing to safeguard the health of our employees.

“We have had to streamline health and safety policies in line with Coronavirus regulations as well as investing resources for protection of citizens. Mining companies have had to play a delicate balancing act in light of COVID-19. On one hand, we have had continued operations to protect national foreign currency inflows needed to oil critical sectors and imports, whilst on the other hand, ensuring employees and the general public are protected,” she said.

Mining remains one of the largest contributors towards the Zimbabwean economy.

The sector accounts for around 70 percent of national exports, and contributes around 17 percent to government revenue.

The sector also remains key to the socio-economic development agenda of the country.

Padenga acquires 50,1 stake in Dallaglio

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Padenga acquires 50,1 stake in Dallaglio

The Competition and Tariff Commission (CTC) has approved Padenga Holdings’ acquisition of a 50,1 percent stake in gold mining company Dallaglio Investments, in a move expected to boost the group’s earnings.

The group made the announcement at its virtual annual general meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, which was the first online AGM held in Zimbabwe, which was done using Escrow AGM.

This follows the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange’s approval of such meetings recently.

According to the group, the mining operations will now be incorporated in its financials for the FY20.

Market watchers say the deal will be fruitful for the crocodile breeder as gold is a safe investment option on the back of its foreign currency generation capacity.

Gold is the largest foreign currency earner for Zimbabwe followed by tobacco.

Brokerage firm, IH Securities, projects a surge in revenue for Padenga driven by the consolidation of the mining business.

“Total revenues for Padenga are expected to improve by 158,9 percent from US$29,12 million to US$75,41 million mainly driven by the consolidation of Dallaglio,” said IH Securities.

EBITDA margin is expected to increase to 31,5 percent from 24,2 percent as a result of the jump in revenues caused by carry-over skins from 2019 and the consolidation of the gold operations.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused economies to experience a meltdown, gold sales during the first quarter of the year 2020 remained stable although there were also some disruptions to operations as businesses implemented social distancing and lockdown.

Prices of gold are projected to rise to US$1 696 by end of financial year 2020 as the yellow metal is safe haven during economic uncertainties.

As such, Dallaglio is expected to make a significant revenue contribution to Padenga’s figures.

Said IH Securities: “We have made assumptions from Pro-forma statements provided in the initial transaction to acquire Dallaglio; we forecast revenue contribution from the mining operations to come in at US$37,92 million for FY20.

“Policies pertaining to foreign currency retention levels significantly impact operations for the company and its mining subsidiary.”

The government recently reviewed retention levels for gold miners to 70 percent from 55 percent with the remainder liquidated at the interbank market at the prevailing rate. 

Padenga, which is an export-oriented business, is expected to further cash-in on the deal as it consolidates its foreign currency earnings with the mining operations.

Dallaglio was incorporated in Zimbabwe in 2005 and owns Pickstone Peerless Mine near Chegutu, which produces approximately 61kg to 65kg of gold per month.

The group also owns Eureka Mine near Guruve, an open-pit gold mine currently under development set anticipated to produce 140kg a month.

Overall, the group anticipates a good year also on enhanced skins production from its Zimbabwe crocodile operations.

The group projects to sell 55 000 premium quality skins for FY20, a volume increase driven by carry-over skins from the prior year.

Padenga also expects to achieve a grade 1 result of between 83 percent and 85 percent.

IH Securities has maintained a buy recommendation for the stock on the local bourse.

Zimdaily

RBZ drops gold subsidy

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RBZ drops gold subsidy

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has ended its 25% incentive to gold producers, a subsidy criticised as a key driver of currency weakness and inflation.

The government had signalled in March that it would stop the subsidy, criticised by the IMF as one of the central bank’s “quasi-fiscal” activities stoking money supply.

“We would like to advise on the following; termination of the incentives to gold producers with effect from 26 May 2020,” said a June 4 letter to miners from Fradreck Kunaka, head of Fidelity Printers and Refiners, RBZ’s gold buying arm.

The subsidy was introduced in 2019, ostensibly to encourage more production of gold, the country’s biggest foreign currency earner. Under the scheme, gold producers were paid 25% of the gold price for each delivery of gold to Fidelity. The incentive was paid out in Zimbabwe dollars at the prevailing official exchange rate.

While welcomed by producers, critics said the subsidy was driving money supply, undermining the Zimbabwe dollar and feeding inflation.

In March, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said the gold scheme would be cancelled once the Reuters forex trading system became fully functional. However, government has controversially fixed the exchange temporarily as part of measures to deal with COVID-19.

IMF on gold incentive

In its Article IV consultation report released in March, the IMF estimated that, as at January this year, Zimbabwe was spending Z$400 million on the gold incentive every month.

“Staff urged the authorities to remove the gold incentive (which would have an annual cost of about one percent of GDP) and to incentivise gold sales to Fidelity Printers via forex market liberalisation reforms so as to reduce the parallel market premium, given the strong (negative) correlation between the premium and gold sales by small producers, who account for over 60% of total gold supplies in Zimbabwe,” the IMF said.

RBZ governor John Mangudya has previously rejected criticism that the gold scheme fuelled inflation. In a statement in March, he insisted that “the contribution of the gold sector incentive scheme was very minimal to the growth of reserve money”.

However, the government had, in its discussions with the IMF, pledged to drop the scheme. No timelines were given at the time.

“The impact on the budget of this policy change (removing the subsidy) and its timing is unclear at this stage, but could potentially reduce the additional spending,” the IMF said then.

Payment delays

Apart from the facility, RBZ has been failing to pay miners for gold deliveries. Industry officials report that some miners have not been paid for their deliveries for seven weeks.

Outstanding payments due to gold producers as at May 26 will be settled “soon” Kunaka said in his latest letter to mines, without giving details.

The government recently increased the proportion of forex payments that large gold producers can keep from gold sales from 55% to 70%. Small scale miners now receive a flat rate of US$45 per gramme of gold. Gold output fell to 27.6 tonnes last year from 33.2 tonnes in 2018, hit by power outages and forex shortages.

Source: NeZWire

Caledonia to delist from TSX

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Caledonia to delist from TSX

DUAL-LISTED resource group, Caledonia Mining Corporation, which locally owns Blanket Mine in Gwanda, Matabeleland South, has applied for voluntary delisting from the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).

According to the mining group, financial and administrative costs associated with listing on the bourse are no longer justified.

“Caledonia announces that it has applied for voluntary delisting from the TSX effective as of the closing of trading on June 19, 2020.

“Following delisting, the company’s shares will continue to be listed and traded on NYSE American LLC (“NYSE American”) under the symbol, CMCL,” it said in the latest update.

Caledonia said depositary interests representing shares will also continue to trade on AIM of the London Stock Exchange plc under the symbol “CMCL”.

The resource group said since its shares were listed on the NYSE in 2017, trading on that market has become increasingly dominant, and it now provides the most liquid market for its shares.

“Accordingly, the company believes that the financial and administrative costs associated with maintaining its listing on the TSX are no longer justified,” it said.

Shareholders holding shares in Canadian brokerage accounts should contact their brokers to confirm how to trade in Caledonia’s shares in the future on NYSE American or through depositary interests on AIM.

Meanwhile, Caledonia in the first quarter ended March 31, 2020, recorded 14 233 ounces (oz) of gold output at its Blanket Gold Mine. The production figure for the quarter under review was 19 percent up from 11 948 ounces produced in the relative period in 2019.

The gold producer attributed the bold performance to operational efficiencies, particularly machinery improvements towards the end of last year.

Boterekwa road collapses due to illegal mining activities

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Boterekwa road collapses due to illegal mining activities

Boterekwa road which is an international passage for trade and tourism has collapsed on Friday leaving transporters at great risk since they are now using one way this has been caused by the illegal gold panners.

Langton Mupeta district administrator Shurugwi has engaged different stakeholders like the road department, Shurugwi ZRP and all responsible authorities to work on the road as a matter of emergency. Unki mine also promised to cheap in if the road department does not have enough resources.

“The situation is pretty bad and I had proposed that a traffic control system be established from Shurugwi town to control motorists in order for them to exercise extreme caution,” said Mupeta.

He added that motorists are in panic now due to the collapse of the first curve when you are heading to Shurugwi town and we are likely to face total closure of the road in the near future.

“There is a serious road failure mostly caused by heavy haulage trucks and there are so many tunnels under the road so we should address the issue of tunnels first to be filled with concrete if we ignore they will be total road failure . Right now we are expecting the engineer tomorrow morning at the site and have the way forward,” added Mupeta.

Another resident also suggested that the government should consult Gorddad to help with his graders to open another road as we wait for the maintenance of the main road.

“These illegal miners have brought shame on us how can they temper around with such an infrastructure. The road is used for all tradings even with foreign countries. The police should not remain silent about these gold panners found in Boterekwa should be jailed,” said the source.

Source: Masvingo Mirror

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