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Mzi acts to save Mazoe and Shamva

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Mzi acts to save Mazoe and Shamva

Former Zimbabwe largest gold producer Metallon Corporation’s owner Mzi Khumalo, has reportedly filed for business rescue for two of its subsidiaries, Goldfields of Mazowe Limited and Goldfields of Shamva Limited, in order to protect the companies’ assets from being seized by creditors.

The Business rescue process, as established by the South African Companies Act 2008, provides a company experiencing financial distress with an opportunity to restructure its operational model and improve cash flow by offering a temporary suspension on legal actions or liquidation measures against the company, giving it an time to cut down its debt and produce the best outcomes for all the company’s stakeholders – creditors, employees and shareholders.

Both Goldfields of Mazowe Limited and Goldfields of Shamva Limited have struggled to remain afloat over the last two years in the face of a hostile Zimbabwean economy. Mining executives in Zimbabwe have recently complained about issues affecting their operations such as exchange rate disparities causing a mismatch between revenue and costs, as well as high-interest rates on the market making it challenging for mining companies to raise capital. Khumalo has struggled to raise $400 million in order to expand Metallon’s gold mines four-fold in order to scale and attain critical mass.

Metallon’s companies owe tens of millions of dollars to some of its service providers. In February, the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) took Metallon Corporation to court to compel the gold miner to settle a $9.3 million bill for power supplied to three of its mines. Last September, Metallon announced it was considering paying mining-equipment suppliers in gold because a cash shortage in Zimbabwe was hindering its plan to expand output. In the same month, Goldfields of Mazowe announced a plan to retrench hundreds of employees after the company was put under care and maintenance. Production at Metallon’s mines have since been halted in order to allow creditors to attach property and mining equipment. A representative for Metallon declined to respond to a request for comment.

Metallon is Zimbabwe’s largest gold mining company, operating four gold mines throughout the country. The company, which is headquartered in London, was founded in 2002 when Mzi Khumalo acquired Lonmin’s Zimbabwean gold assets for $15.5 million. Khumalo, 63, is one of South Africa’s most recognizable businessmen and a former anti-apartheid activist. Apart from Metallon, Khumalo owns extensive business interests in the financial services and infrastructure industries.

Forbes

Chinese mine employees protest over poor working conditions and low remuneration

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Chinese mine employees protest over poor working conditions and low remuneration

PRODUCTION at Chinese firm, Ming Chang Sino-Africa Mining Investments’ lime factory in Bubi District, Matabeleland North came to a halt last week after an acrimonious row between management and its employees over poor working conditions and low remuneration.

Workers at the lime plant staged a two-day sit in on Monday and Tuesday protesting against lack of proper protective wear, harassment and poor remuneration. The company extracts limestone for the production of lime and also does quarry stone mining for the production of construction aggregate.

“We had been complaining for some time to the management to address the issue of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). We are being forced to work without proper protective wear exposing ourselves to hazardous fumes and risking losing our limbs or being burnt. We are constantly subjected to insults and sometimes assault by some management staff, as if this is not enough we are receiving a paltry $7,50 per hour per shift of nine hours, which is way below the prescribed lawfully rates,” said one of the workers on condition of anonymity in fear of victimisation.

Lawfully prescribe rates for the lowest paid miners are pegged at $18,00 per hour per shift of nine hours.

The workers said after their two-day sit in management barred them from operating any equipment or carrying out duties at the plant for three days. 

Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers’ Union organising secretary Mr Tarisai Mhiko confirmed receiving a report from workers at the lime manufacturing plant.

“We received a call from Bubi Rural District Council that employees at the mine had staged a two-day sit in at the company’s premises in protest against poor remuneration and inhuman working conditions as well as lack of protective clothing wear. 

“The workers are claiming that they are being forced to work without protective gear such as dust mask, overalls and safety shoes. We registered the issue some time last year with the National Employment Council but the date for the sitting hasn’t been set yet,” he said.

When Sunday News Business visited the plant on Friday workers could be seen milling around near the factory’s entrance and one of the Chinese management staffer referred all questions to the company’s lawyer Ms Gamuchirai Dzitiro of Mutumbwa, Mugabe and Partners.

Contacted for a comment Ms Dzitiro refuted the allegations levelled against her clients but stated that the employees had embarked on an unlawful collective job action. 

“What I am aware of is that there is a pending labour dispute against employees, which is pending. There is an unlawful strike, which matter the Ministry of (Public Service) Labour and Social Welfare is seized with . . . An employer is complaining here that these people have stopped work and I am losing money because of this unlawful job action. At this point what we will just advice our client is not to make any comment on this matter because it’s sub judice, it’s now before a court, a competent labour tribunal,” she said. 

Ms Dzitiro said she was unaware of the ill-treatment being perpetrated by the company’s management as no formal complaint has been filed against them.

“We don’t have a single labour case, which is pending in which they (employees) complained of ill-treatment but if they have a case number of the pending case whereby they placed such grievances before a labour officer, I would be pleased to go through it but to our knowledge the company never received any such form of complaint,” she said.

The company started operation in June last year and employs over 70 people._The Sunday News

Rushwaya bounces back

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Rushwaya bounces back

A ZIMBABWE Miners Federation (ZMF) Special General Council has pledged its  support for under-fire president Ms Henrietta Rushwaya and unanimously passed a decision to rebrand.

The rebranding of the association was the major decision made during a meeting held in Kwekwe on Thursday with more than 20 affiliate associations from across the country unanimously supporting the motion. Among other decisions, the general council also unanimously declared Ms Rushwaya the legitimate leader of the federation, dismissing another structure led by Mr Ishmael Kagoro as null and void.

The decision comes amid the ZMF leadership led by Mr Kaguru challenging Ms Rushwaya’s leadership accusing her using “unorthodox” means of taking over the leadership of the ZMF. Last week the High Court declared the results and proceedings of the elections which brought Ms Rushwaya  to the helm of the small-scale miners’ body invalid.

But Ms Rushwaya, has since appealed to the Supreme Court against a recent High Court order which stripped her of the presidency of the small-scale miners’ body. 

Chair of the general council, Mr Makumba Nyenje said the council had agreed to rally behind Ms Rushwaya. He said until the Supreme Court rules otherwise (after Ms Rushwaya’s appeal), Ms Rushwaya would remain the legitimate leader.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Ms Rushwaya said the rebranding had nothing to do with the ongoing leadership wrangle but it came after the realisation that the organisation needed to be all encompassing.

“As ZMF, we had been requested by the general council as of 26 September 2018 with regards a proposal requesting that we rebrand from ZMF and come up with a new name. We are not totally divorcing ourselves from the functions of ZMF but we are only widening our scope to become an all-encompassing body.

“We are coming up with an all-inclusive approach where we are taking on board small-scale miners, artisanal miners, gold buyers among other smaller groups who have not been given due recognition in the past. We want to bring people together under one roof under umbrella representation where they can all be represented,” she said.

She said there was need to unite all miners so that they play their key role in economic development role and help achieve vision 2030.

“We are coming up with an approach that is in line with Vision 2030 as enunciated by President Emmerson Mnangagwa where we are targeting a middle-income economy by 2030. As miners, we should put all these squabbles aside and set our eyes on achieving our goal. Last year we managed to surpass our 30 tonne gold target, and if we unite again this time, nothing can stop us,” she said.

Although a new name was yet to be adopted, Ms Rushwaya said there were a number of names that were being toyed around with.

On the ongoing leadership wrangle, ZMF legal advisor Advocate Tapson Dzvete told the members that Rushwaya was still in charge as long as the Supreme Court was yet to make a ruling._The Sunday News

RioZim posted significance milestone towards Sengwa power plant preparatory works

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RioZim posted significance milestone towards Sengwa power plant preparatory works

Zimbabwe has edged closer to getting its first major independent power station following revelations that diversified miner, RioZim, has posted significant milestones towards completing preparatory works for its longstanding US$2,2 billion Sengwa power plant to be built in Gokwe North.

The 2400 megawatts project is an integral part of Government’s goal to guarantee security of power supply and ensure self-sufficiency on electricity by facilitating investment in power generation by independent producers such, as RioZim.

Zimbabwe needs an average of 1 600 megawatts at peak periods of demand for power, but is currently only able to deliver an average of 1 400MW to 1600MW due to constrained generating capacity caused by old and antiquated power infrastructure, especially base-load plant Hwange.

Power shortages are bridged with imports, which require the elusive foreign currency and power rationing, which disrupts industry and household activities.

Sengwa is among several independent power projects (IPPs) licensed by the regulator, Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) over the past few years, as Government took deliberate steps to placate the crippling power shortage in the country.

Significant progress has been made since the gold and diamond miner, RioZim, signed an exclusivity agreement with Power China in September last year, paving way for the start of preparatory works for construction of the plant.

Power China was among six shortlisted prospective investors that included United States electrical systems behemoth General Electric (GE), for the project.

A company source, who sits on the RioZim board, told The Sunday Mail Business that the contractor for the project, Chinese State owned firm, Power China — a sister company of Sinohydro-had already completed the plans for the water pick up site in Kariba. Further, Power China has reportedly completed mapping out the route for the water pipeline that will transport water needed for cooling at the coal fired power station in Sengwa.

Efforts to get a comment from RioZim Limited group chief executive officer Bheki Nkomo, were unsuccessful by the time of going to print, but sources privy to the developments said that everything on Sengwa power project was on full throttle and the relationship with Power China had been smooth.

“Things are moving. We are working very well with Power China on the project in Gokwe. We have almost completed the plans to pick up water in Kariba.

“Our target is that by end of June this year we should have completed drawing up the Bill of Quantities for the project, so we are getting under the radar,” the source said, adding plans were afoot to start developing a town in the area.

The source also said RioZim had engaged the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing to facilitate with the planning of the residential town and all other critical infrastructure that will be required by workers and the company once the power station comes to fruition.

Further, RioZim has also initiated the process of getting a special economic zone status (SEZ) for the Sengwa power project, which will bring a number of benefits for the project. “Everything pertaining to the project, we are on full throttle,” the source said.

Officials of Power China are reportedly already on the ground and in the process of preparing the Bill of Quantities on the water pipeline and evacuation power lines. They are also updating details on two issues as required by financiers of the project in China.

Power China  is a sister company of Sinohydro, which undertook the US$533 million expansion of Kariba South and also landed the contract to carry out the US$1,4 billion Hwange Power Station’s Unit 7 and 8 extension.

“The bank wanted to know the cost of the water pipeline from Kariba to Sengwa, so they are currently costing out that, then the cost of evacuation lines from Sengwa to Sherwood, they wanted proper costing,” said another source.

Upon completion, Sengwa will be among Zimbabwe’s three biggest power plants, including the 2 400 MW Batoka being jointly pursued by Zambia and Zimbabwe, 900MW Hwange plant (under expansion) and 1050MW Kariba South station.

Further, the envisaged thermal power project will be fed from RioZim’s coal claims, which are understood to hold more than 1,3 billion tonnes of the commodity.

Over the years, the company has been struggling to secure funds for the project. But the pro-business administration of President Emmerson Mnangagwa has renewed investor interest, which open the gates for Sengwa._The Sunday Mail

 

South African gold output has longest losing streak since 2009

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South African gold output has longest losing streak since 2009

South African gold production shrank for a 17th straight month in February, the longest string of contractions since the financial crisis.

Gold output fell 21 percent from a year earlier compared with a revised 23 percent drop in January, Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said in a statement on its website Thursday. Production contracted for 29 months through January 2009.

Key Insights

  • South Africa used to be the world’s top producer of the metal but deeper ore bodies, labor strife, high costs and policy uncertainty have crimped output.
  • A strike by members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union that started in November has slashed output at the South African operations of Sibanye Gold Ltd., the biggest producer of the metal from local mines.
  • While Sibanye is challenging the legality of that strike, it’s also preparing for pay negotiations with AMCU at its platinum business.
  • Total mining output declined 7.5 percent from a year earlier, the most since March 2016.
  • The country is the world’s biggest platinum producer.
  • Output of platinum-group metals, which include palladium, rose for a sixth straight month, expanding 18 percent._Bloomberg News

Sibanye raises more cash with $125m Citi prepayment

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Sibanye raises more cash with $125m Citi prepayment

Sibanye Gold Ltd. raised $125 million by selling future gold production, the second major step by the company this week to build up cash as it faces a drawn-out labor dispute.

In exchange for the cash, South Africa’s largest gold miner will deliver about 106,000 ounces of gold to Citigroup Inc., it said Thursday. That comes after the company this week sold about $120 million of new shares.

Key Insights

Sibanye is building up a war chest as it faces an intensifying conflict with one of South Africa’s most militant labor unions. A four-month-old wage strike by members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union has slashed output at its South African gold mines. “The gold prepayment, in addition to the share placing announced earlier this week, are both strategic and preemptive levers to enhance our balance sheet flexibility and ensure that the group is appropriately positioned and sufficiently robust,” said Chief Executive Officer Neal Froneman. The platinum industry is also preparing for tough wage negotiations this year, and South Africa’s mining sector has a history of lengthy and sometimes violent protests.

Market Reaction

Sibanye shares fell 0.6% to 13.92 rand on Thursday, extending yesterday’s 18% plunge after the equity sale. The company’s free cash flow may have been marginally negative after a poor performance in the first quarter, Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note. Swapping cash for future metals output is more favorable than this week’s dilutive share sale, the analysts said. Still, while it helps beef up Sibanye’s liquidity, its cash position faces mounting risks from labor disputes which are likely to spill into platinum mines, they said_Bloomberg News

Avesoro Resources sticks to 2019 guidance, despite gold output drop

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Avesoro Resources sticks to 2019 guidance, despite gold output drop

West Africa-focused gold miner Avesoro Resources (TSX, AIM:ASO) disappointed investors after reporting Thursday a steep drop in first quarter gold production, with performance missing board targets.

The Canadian gold producer churned out 45,098 ounces of the precious metal in the first three months of 2019, flat quarter-on-quarter, but 34% lower than in the same period a year earlier.

Avesoro churned out 45,098 ounces of gold in the first three months of 2019, flat quarter-on-quarter, but 34% lower than in the same period a year earlier

Avesoro attributed the output drop to lower plant throughput at its New Liberty mine in Liberia and its Youga asset in Burkina Faso. The company maintained guidance for 2019 of between 210,000 ounces and 230,000 ounces of gold.

New Liberty produced 25,855 ounces of gold in the quarter, a 5% increase on the fourth quarter of 2018. Youga’s production of 19,243 ounces in the quarter fell 6% on Q4 2018. In 2018, Avesoro’s total output was 220,458 ounces.

For 2019, the company expects Youga to contribute between 90,000 – 100,000 ounces, with the difference being compensated for by New Liberty, where Avesoro is in discussions with an open-pit mining contractor, chief executive Serhan Umurhan said in a statement.

The Toronto-based company, which has a track record of successfully building low cost mining operations and turning around non-performing assets, has experienced rapid growth to date.

Avesoro’s plan is to become a larger 500,000-ounces gold producer in the next two to three years, and it intends to achieve this goal through mergers or acquisitions.

The company, which also owns the Batouri asset in Cameroon and Balogo in Burkina Faso, is currently progressing a prefeasibility study (PFS) for an underground extension at New Liberty. The report is expected to include the first open-pit reserves from the Ndablama satellite deposit and is set to be concluded in the coming weeks._Mining.com

Brutality in Mining continues, Chikoore freed?

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Brutality in Mining continues, Chikoore freed?

KADOMA businessman and miner Litten Chikoore who was captured on camera assaulting Pedzisai Mangisi for allegedly stealing from him was sentenced to eight months in prison which were wholly suspended by Kadoma magistrate Takudzwa Gwazemba on Friday last week after he pleaded guilty to the charge.

The state led by Gracious Chaminuka believed that, Chikoore deserved a custodial sentence as he was a potential criminal with previous three cases at the court which were all withdrawn before trial which are, 2014 attempt murder case under CRB number 12/06, same year another of impersonation as a cop CRB number 12/08 and in 2016 for allegedly contravening the Mines and Mining Act.

Chikoore’s lawyer, Ignatius Murambasvina told the court that Chikoore first handed Mangisi to the police when he discovered that he had stolen 400 grams of gold, Murambatsvina further said that the police saw it fit for Chikoore to have an out of court settlement with the accused.

However, Chikoore then decided to settle the matter by thoroughly beating Mangisi unreasonably which shocked Zimbabweans with most calling for authorities to arrest Chikoore.

This case comes after residents and the mining towns were complaining about artisanal miners popularly known as MaShurugwi for disturbing the peace of the country’s social and economic spheres.

The gold and diamond small scale mining sector has been reportedly labeled a brutal and unfriendly field where violence is strife.

Many books are written on African small scale and artisanal mining, where the industry is largely labeled hellish and devilish and surviving on the exploitation of human labour, workers treated like second class citizens. Ordinary citizens believe that the magistrate did not do what he exactly needed to do to combat violence in the small scale and artisanal mining sector. He left the door open for the continuation of violence in the mining industry.

According to one miner identified as Mr. Rupende, the way the court of law treated Chikoore’s case shows that justice is only targets the poor, the elite is privileged to get away with such behavior. The court should have sent a clear message making Chikoore’s case as an example to other miners who are treating their employees shamelessly.

“In my opinion someone, somewhere was bribed because you don’t have to take the law into own hands. He was supposed to hand over him to the police if he had committed a crime. Anywhere this is one case out of a thousand, mine owners abuse their employees” said Repende.

One miner and Zimbabwe Miners Federation member said that a custodian sentence would have sent a message to fellow miners regarding the violence in the mining industry.

“It’s heartbreaking because a custodial sentence would have been a deterrent to would be offenders. Let’s wait and see if the prosecution will appeal the sentence. In any case that’s why we encourage miners to affiliate to associations so that they get the necessary advocacy in times like this” said Sibanda

However, former ZASMC president Mr. Chris Murove believes that Chikoore’s case has made an impact on would be offenders, he was humiliated by the public and might have suffered psychologically therefore slamming his community service sentence as nothing is a bit harsh since for a record Chikoore is now a convict.

“While the sentence might appear very lenient to the ordinary observer in light of the severity of the assault done by the convicted Chikowore on the hapless artisanal miner, it must be borne in mind that our justice system in Zimbabwe is a corrective system rather than a retributive one unlike other justice systems that call for “an eye for an eye”. The said Chikowore is now a convicted criminal and that fact alone can cause him mental pain and anguish” said Mr Murove.

Murove further went on to say that, miners and individuals were judging Chikoore harshly because they lack legal literacy, the magistrate by convicting Chikoore has shown that no one is above the law.

“ Furthermore the magistrate or judge will have taken other factors into account before reaching that judgement and it would improper for anyone who is not a legal person to comment either way on that judgement. The best thing now is to accept that judgement and to move forward. Such action by whoever, however financially or politically connected they may be has been criminalised and the judgement demonstrates that no one has the license to physically abuse any other individual” said Murove.

 

Nearly 2,000 Zambian villagers can sue Vedanta in England – Supreme Court

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Nearly 2,000 Zambian villagers can sue Vedanta in England – Supreme Court

Nearly 2,000 Zambian villagers have the right to sue mining company Vedanta in the English courts, London’s Supreme Court said on Wednesday, raising the prospect other companies could face legal action in England related to their activities abroad.

India-listed Vedanta, which delisted from London last year but maintains a legal base in Britain, appealed a lower-court ruling that a case in which villagers alleged their land was polluted by a Vedanta unit could be heard in England.

But the Supreme Court dismissed Vedanta’s appeal and said the Zambian villagers could pursue their case through the English courts.

In a statement, Vedanta said the judgment was procedural, relating only to the jurisdiction of the English courts to hear the claims.

“It is not a judgment on the merits of the claims. Vedanta and KCM (Konkola Copper Mines) will defend themselves against any such claims at the appropriate time,” it said.

“I hope this judgment will send a strong message to other large multinationals that their CSR (corporate social responsibility) policies should not just be seen as a polish for their reputation but as important commitments that they must put into action”

Leigh Day, which represented the villagers, said in a statement the decision could have wider implications.

“I hope this judgment will send a strong message to other large multinationals that their CSR (corporate social responsibility) policies should not just be seen as a polish for their reputation but as important commitments that they must put into action,” Martyn Day, senior partner at Leigh Day, said in a statement.

Oliver Holland, a solicitor at Leigh Day, said the firm would now press to bring to trial the case of the 1,826 villagers who allege their land and livelihood have been destroyed by water pollution caused by the Nchanga Copper Mine, owned by Vedanta through its subsidiary KCM.

Separately, Leigh Day is seeking the right to appeal to the Supreme Court after a lower court found Nigerians could not pursue a claim against Royal Dutch Shell in London in relation to oil spills in Nigeria’s Delta region.

Leigh Day is also seeking to take a case against Unilever to the Supreme Court over a lawsuit it has brought on behalf of tea plantation workers and their families in Kenya in connection with ethnic violence in 2008.

Vedanta’s legal team previously argued that Zambia was the “natural forum” for the case and said the parent company did not control operations in Zambia, which were governed by Zambian law._Reuters

Zimbabwe mulls ‘use it or lose it’ approach to mining rights

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Zimbabwe mulls ‘use it or lose it’ approach to mining rights

Zimbabwe may withdraw mining rights from companies that take too long to dig for minerals, the deputy mines minister said on Wednesday, part of efforts to lift output in a sector vital to the country’s economic revival.

Zimbabwe sits on the second-largest known platinum deposits after neighbouring South Africa and President Emmerson Mnangagwa is keen to revive mining after years of reticence by foreign investors during the Robert Mugabe administration.

Speaking to investors and executives at a mining conference in Johannesburg, Polite Kambamura said details of the so-called “use it or lose it” approach to mining policy would be made available in due course.

“If we’re not satisfied with their explanation or mining plans, then we will kindly ask them to give that resource back to the government”

“We will be calling owners of such mineral resources to come forward and show cause why they are not mining,” he told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference.

“If we’re not satisfied with their explanation or mining plans, then we will kindly ask them to give that resource back to the government.”

As part of plans to boost mining export revenues to $12 billion a year as of 2023 from $3 billion now, Kambamura also said the country was putting policies in place to make it easier for mining companies to boost production, while urging investors to restart mines that closed in periods of political upheaval.

Last month, Zimbabwe said it would scrap the controversial indigenisation law under which foreign companies are restricted to only 49 percent of their Zimbabwean operations.

Zimbabwe, which counts South Africa’s Impala Platinum and Anglo American Platinum among its mining investors, is also in talks with an industry body, the Chamber of Mines, about reviewing and streamlining mining taxes.

“The ministry is looking at the whole array of taxes like royalties etc to streamline them and establish a more competitive regime,” Betirai Manhando, president of the Chamber of Mines, said at the same conference.

Middle-income economy

About a year ago, Mnangagwa won the first election since the removal of Mugabe in 2017, and has laid out an economic transformation strategy that his government hopes will turn the country into a middle-income economy by 2030.

Though investors at the conference did not dispute the prospect of lucrative returns from the country’s underdeveloped mining, tourism and agricultural industries, they were worried about shortages of foreign currency.

“Currency convertibility is a big issue for investors,” said Richard Tait, a director at Harare-based private equity outfit Mangwana Capital – which is trying to raise $150 million for investments in Zimbabwe.

Mangwana’s investments that mainly earn foreign currency should deliver returns of more than 20 percent, Tait told Reuters.

Zimbabwe ditched a discredited 1:1 dollar peg for its dollar-surrogate bond notes and electronic dollars on Feb. 20, merging them into a transitional currency called the RTGS dollar._Reuters

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