Mining ZimbabweLatest Mining News, Policy and Industry Updates

Following the portfolio committee of mines and mining development held on Friday the 27^th of September in Mash central province, the artisanal mining operations are proving to be a great risk to the agricultural practices conducted in this region. The mining operations are not only destroying the farming lands but they are also causing river siltation, thereafter jeopardizing the farmers’ irrigation process.

Mirirai Melissa Ngoya

Speaking to Mining Zimbabwe, Mr G Dengu from the Bindura farmers association said, “artisanal and small scale mining activities are leading to Mazoe river siltation which is, therefore disadvantaging the irrigation scheme as farmers are no longer able to access enough water.”

He added on saying, “it is imperative to note that not everyone is interested in mining activities, hence the government must intervene and set up a system of control which will benefit both the miner and the farmer.”

Mr Dengu expressed his concerns, if not his disappointment at the fact that EMA has failed to control these informal mining activities that have proven to be a menace in the agricultural industry.

“It is sad that EMA has not yet taken measures to curb river siltation which is being caused by artisanal and small scale miners.”

The distressed farmer further said that water is being contaminated with chemicals that are harmful to the crops and this is quite unfair for them because they pay in order to access water for irrigation.

“We are seeing the artisanal miners’ operations as a threat in our agricultural sphere since they are not considering that we share the same land and water bodies hence our operations must complement each other.”

Due to the devastating climatic changes, farmers are opting for the irrigation scheme hence relevant authorities must implement certain policies that will not result in the clash of these two industries.

“Agriculture and the mining sector are the major economic boosters in Zimbabwe thus, their operations must be in support of each other”, said Mr Dengu.

He further on indicated that when setting up the budget for 2020, they must consider setting aside funds for river de-siltation such that they will yield significantly.

GWERU-based Chinese chrome smelter, Jinan Corporation, targets to increase its annual export earnings to US$100 million and creating additional jobs through construction of four more furnaces at its Almid plant.

The company operates five furnaces and will be commissioning a sixth low carbon unit before end of this year. 

Jinan Corporation is one of the top foreign currency earners in Zimbabwe, grossing at least US$25 million from ferrochrome exports.

Speaking during a media tour of the plant on Friday, Almid deputy general manager, Mr Zhou Zhengqiao, said funding for the four furnaces was already available through a grant from the Chinese government.

“We were granted funding by the Chinese government to establish 10 furnaces and right now we have five furnaces online and we expect to commission the sixth furnace by the end of this year,” he said. 

“After this we can generate US$100 million per annum and create 1 500 direct jobs. Our strength is that we have years of experience, sufficient funding, efficient technology and 10 000 hectares of chrome claims.”

Jinan Corporation has a joint venture with Zimbabwe Alloys where it processes ferrochrome slags sourced from the now defunct giant ferrochrome exporter.

“We have a joint venture with ZimAlloys where we use modern technology to process four million tonnes of slag, which accumulated there in the past 14 to 16 years. We have achieved what others could not do in the past decades,” said Mr Zhou. 

“We generate US$25m per annum and most of the processed slag we use it as construction material.”

He also said the company was constructing three chrome ore plants, with two of the plants set to be commissioned soon while work on the third plant was underway. 

Mr Zhou added that the company was planning to construct a machinery manufacturing plant on site to produce spare parts.

“We want to do our own machine manufacturing where we are going to produce 70 percent of spare parts on our own. Currently we are importing most of the spare parts from China, which costs us a lot and uses foreign currency. To save forex, we need to manufacture our own spare parts,” he said.

Jinan Corporation exports low and high carbon ferrochrome to South Africa, South America, Europe and Asia. The company, which was established in Zimbabwe in 2008, is a subsidiary of Sichuan Yiming Investment Corporation of China_The Chronicle

COAL miner, Makomo Resources, has reported a 27 percent drop in production for the first nine months of 2019, attributed to procurement gaps as a result of a shortage of foreign currency.

The Hwange-based company produced a total of 689 000 tonnes during the three-quarter period and expects to close the year at one million tonnes. 

The company’s marketing and technical manager, Miss Siphathisiwe Nkomo, said the business has been affected by economic challenges facing the country such as erratic fuel supplies and constraints in buying spare parts.

She was speaking in a recent interview during a tour of the mine site by Matabeleland North Minister of State, Richard Moyo, and Namibia’s Omaheke region Governor, Festus Tulonga Ueitele.

Miss Nkomo said Makomo Resources was in the process of engaging Government with a view to seek assistance in accessing foreign currency.

“We have not been immune to the prevailing economic challenges and as a result, since last year we are down by 27 percent, which is a huge blow to the company,” she said.

Ms Nkomo said procurement of spares and diesel requires foreign currency, which the coal miner is failing to secure. About 70 percent of Makomo’s output goes to the Zimbabwe Power Company. 

Ms Nkomo, however, said they had partnered a local equipment supplier to beat forex challenges by securing some of the spares and equipment in the country.

“The challenge has been with interbank rates hence we started talks with a local company and we are now procuring some of the equipment locally. 

“You may be aware that the bulk of our equipment is not sourced locally,” she said.

“Directors are in talks with Government to open up for ease of doing business towards accessing forex.” 

Makomo Resources has grown to become a key entity having overtaken former giant, Hwange Colliery, in terms of capacity utilisation and production. 

Meanwhile, Makomo Resources will this Friday hold its 9th anniversary celebrations at the site to reward employees and honour stakeholders who have managed to sustain operations despite the economic hardships_The Chronicle

Government is working on various policies to ensure sustainable electricity supply in the long-term after securing a deal from Mozambique’s Hydroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB) of Mozambique for the supply of 100MW.

This came out during the presentation of the 34th Cabinet Decision Making Matrix by Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa yesterday.

Energy and Power Development Minister Fortune Chasi briefed Cabinet on the deal.

“The Minister of Energy and Power Development informed Cabinet that he had recently concluded an agreement with the Mozambican authorities for the supply of an additional 100 megawatts from Hydroelectrica de Cahora Bassa of Mozambique,” she said. 

“This, together with ongoing rehabilitation of the existing small thermal power stations, should further consolidate the already improved electricity supply situation in the country. 

“The improvement should be reinforced by the institution of a cost reflective tariff system, improved operational efficiencies at Zesa, and effective demand-side management measures. The Ministry of Energy and Power Development is already seized with these issues.”

Minister Chasi said Government was committed to reliable long-term availability of electricity.

“Our plan is to be sustainable with regards to the power connection. We are doing many things like reviewing the policy framework, reviewing the legal framework, working on hydroelectric projects and other renewables.

“We are also working on managing demand because we will be able to save significant amounts of power through managing demand and improving generation but we are going to have a very serious thrust on demand management,” said Minister Chasi.

He said Government was also reviewing the legal framework in terms of sentences imposed on those convicted for damaging electricity supply infrastructure.

Turning to fuel prices, Minister Chasi defended the current weekly increases saying any huge increment on the price of the commodity would affect businesses_The Chroicle

Miners in Mutasa are being stopped to mine by farmers on the disguise that there is no miner-farmer consent yet, however the famers will eventually start mining without any mining claim or permission from relevant authorities in the end leaving the land in complete distress, Mining Zimbabwe has learnt.

Rudairo Mapuranga

According to some concerned miners who spoke to Mining Zimbabwe, farmers specifically war veterans are abusing their position in the society by grabbing mining claims near their farms asserting that the mining operations are jeopardizing their farming activities.

These farmers are also alleged to be turning their farms into mines without seeking permission from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Developments.

“Farmers are turning their farms into mines without seeking permission from the Ministry of Mines and miners are being stopped by farmers contesting that mining operations are a hindrance to their farming practices”, said one miner.

Mining Zimbabwe has learnt from miners that it is becoming difficult for miners to get a letter of consent from farm owners since the farmers will be eyeing to take over the mining concession from the miner.

“It is very hard for miners to get a letter of consent from farm owners to be allowed to get a license on a farm of less than 100ha”, they said.

The miners are henceforth pleading to the relevant authorities to come on board and take control of the  situation.

Miners are continuously contesting that unsafe mining methods that are being used by farmers thwart the gold production process, resultantly increasing the rate of gold leakages.

“We wonder were the gold task force, police, EMA, Ministry of Mines , and Mutasa rural district council are when there is a lot of gold leakages and land degradation going on”, they said.

The miners continued to say that even though they sought for justice on several occasions, their efforts have not been recognised since these farmers have not been prosecuted.

“Is our law there to protect certain individuals, these farmers are not being arrested yet misconducts are taking place in broad day light”, they said.