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Indian gold merchant invests in Zim sector

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Indian gold merchant invests in Zim sector

AN Indian businessman and gold buyer has channelled an initial US$500 000 into the gold sector in Zimbabwe and plans to pour in millions of dollars in further investment in the mining industry. 

Universal Exim, a company from Rajkot in India, has already set up shop in Bulawayo and is trading as Sparkplug Investments. In an interview, the director of Sparkplug Investments, Dr Dipak Hindocha, said gold buying was a short term investment as his long term vision was to invest in gold mining in Zimbabwe.

“I have been granted a licence to buy and sell gold in Zimbabwe. So, I am pouring in US$500 000. I want to be the biggest buyer of gold in Zimbabwe but like many investors you start with a low figure and increase it as time goes by.

“This is just a start, I know Zimbabwe is blessed with a lot of gold but I thought as a new investor with little knowledge of Zimbabwe I should start as a gold buyer and seller before I invest in mines,” he said. 

“This strategy will allow me to study the Zimbabwe gold industry and when I have studied it to my satisfaction I will then invest millions into gold mining.”

Dr Hindocha said he decided to invest in Zimbabwe after the Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Raj Modi, visited India last year with good tidings about investment opportunities available in Zimbabwe.

“Your Deputy Minister convinced not only me but others to invest in Zimbabwe and more are coming. This country is peaceful and the crime rate is low. One only has come to Zimbabwe to see that the negative media reports about Zimbabwe are false,” said Dr Hindocha.

Indian businessman commended Government’s economic reforms and said these were necessary for the economy to recover. Said Dr Hindocha: “India went through what Zimbabwe is going through now, there was economic turmoil and the government had to implement painful reforms and today it is one of the biggest economies in the world. It is only a matter of time before Zimbabwe recovers”.

Deputy Minister Modi expressed confidence that more investors from India were interested in Zimbabwe’s precious metals and are coming to invest.

“Many Indian investors have inquired about buying minerals from Zimbabwe but some want to open mines or to invest in existing mines from the go. As Government our job is to ensure that all investments from investors who come to Zimbabwe are protected and we are doing that. Our economic reforms are bearing fruits as many foreign investors are interested in investing in our country,” he said.

Source : Chronicle

Zimbabwe, Russia sign 6 mining MoUs

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Zimbabwe, Russia sign 6 mining MoUs

 

RUSSIAN mining companies look set to get access to the massive platinum and asbestos resources in Zimbabwe following moves between the two governments to conclude half a dozen bilateral agreements.

In a post-Cabinet briefing, Foreign Affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo yesterday said he had recently met the Russian minister of Natural Resources and Environment where the two agreed to ensure that six memoranda of understanding between the two countries be concluded.

“Agreement to conclude the following six memoranda of understanding (MoU) before end of 2019: Mutual protection of classified information, co-operation in the field of geological exploration and mineral resource management; co-operation in platinum group metals, co-operation in the field of diamond exploration and mining and co-operation in the field of energy,” the Cabinet decision matrix statement read.

Six Russian companies, according to Cabinet, have already expressed interest in Zimbabwe’s minerals and the agreements will open up scope for them to start exploration.

Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa told journalists that under the economic, trade and industrial co-operation, there were agreements for the Russian companies to support transport system in the country.

“Russian companies offered to supply civilian passenger and training aircraft, KAMAZ trucks of different ranges, rail freight wagons, agricultural and power engineering equipment and waste-to-energy plants,” she said.

Source : NewsDay

Mali’s new mining code ends tax exemptions, other protections

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Mali’s new mining code ends tax exemptions, other protections

Reuters-Mining companies operating in Mali will no longer be exempt from VAT during production and will have a shorter period of protection from fiscal changes, according to a new mining code announced by the Mines Ministry on Wednesday.

The new code seeks to redress the “shortcomings” of a 2012 law by bringing a “substantial increase” in the contribution of the mining sector to the economy, the Mines Ministry said in a statement.

But it contains some clauses that international mining companies have strongly opposed elsewhere in Africa, most notably in the Democratic Republic of Congo where companies have been at loggerheads with government.

The new code in Mali, Africa’s third largest gold producer, shortens the “stability period” during which mining companies’ existing investments are protected from changes to fiscal and customs regimes.

Under the previous law, the stability clause was 30 years. It was not made clear on Wednesday what the length of the new stability period would be, but the Economy Ministry said last year that the government aimed to reduce those protections to the lifespan of a mine.

Mali’s government had been negotiating with mining companies to draft a new mining code, but it said last year that it would move to implement a new law unilaterally if no compromise was reached.

It was not clear on Wednesday whether the new code was the product of compromise or if it was proposed without consultation.

Companies with stakes in industrial gold mines in Mali include Barrick Gold Corp, AngloGold Ashanti, B2Gold and Hummingbird Resources.

Profit slumps at Australia’s South32 as trade war hits aluminium prices

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Profit slumps at Australia’s South32 as trade war hits aluminium prices

Reuters-Australian miner South32 Ltd reported a bigger-than-expected 25% drop in annual profit as the trade war between China and the United States hurt aluminium prices, sending its shares lower by as much as 5.8% on Thursday.

South32 also said it was in talks to sell its South Africa thermal coal business to Johannesburg-based Seriti Resources, the latest company to get out of energy coal at a time when investor pressure and climate change concerns are prompting businesses to limit their exposure to fossil fuels.

The miner’s fortunes have soured in tandem with a decline in aluminium prices, which have come under pressure this year due to a slowdown in China – the world’s biggest consumer of the metal – as the Sino-U.S. trade war has escalated.

Alcoa and Norsk Hydro ASA, two of the world’s biggest aluminium producers, warned last year that the trade war was clouding the outlook for the metal.

“It is a pretty tough mix of commodities of coal, manganese and aluminium,” said Damian Rooney, a director of equity sales at Argonaut, referring to the commodities that South32 sells. Price for all three of those metals are down.

The miner’s underlying earnings, excluding the impact of one-off items, fell to $992 million, below analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion in profit, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

South32’s stock was trading at its lowest in more than two years. The broader market was up 0.4%.

DIVESTING THERMAL COAL

The miner, which had flagged last year that it was looking to sell its energy coal business in South Africa, did not disclose a deal value, but said it consists of a modest upfront cash payment and a deferred price mechanism.

Seriti Resources was not immediately available for comment.

The planned sale follows Rio Tinto’s exit from coal in 2018 and comes days after the head of BHP Group, the world’s biggest miner, said the company had put its thermal coal operations under review..

“Ethical investors continue to vote with their feet on a number of issues and I am sure South32 is mindful of that,” Rooney said.

“Although Australia has a rich history of coal mining and there is still significant power demands from the utilities for coal-fired generation it has become a slightly acquired taste,” he said.

Norway’s $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund said in June it may have to sell its stake in South32 to meet tighter ethical investing rules adopted by the country’s parliament.

Reporting by Aditya Soni in BENGALURU; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Tom Hogue

Gold panners terrorise Gwanda residents

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Gold panners terrorise Gwanda residents

GWANDA residents have called for heavy police presence as some gold panners operating in the area have been terrorising members of the public.

Speaking recently during a Gwanda Local Peace Committee (LPC) meeting, Ward Five councillor, Mr Ernest Ncube, said the rowdy gold panners who were sometimes armed with machetes were a menace to residents from his area.

He said the gang was destroying property, fighting in public and threatening residents.

“We have a serious problem in Ward Five. There are two business centres namely Njanji Shopping Centre and Red Cross Business Centre which have become hotspots. 

“At Njanji Shopping Centre there is a nightclub where gangs comprising mostly gold panners gather. When the nightclub closes at 4AM these gangs regroup and start gambling outside.

“Their gambling results in altercations and these fights move to residential areas and in the process people are affected. Their property is destroyed and all of these violent activities have left residents unsettled as they fear for their lives,” he said.

Mr Ncube said in the morning the gangs who will be armed with machetes move to Red Cross Business Centre where the fighting continues. He said the business centre houses shops and the gangs usually harass residents there.

“During the day these gangs terrorise people at Red Cross Business Centre. They threaten and insult people. During their fights they hurl insults at one another in the full view of young children.

“They damage windows at people’s homes and throw stones on roof tops. At night they go back to Njanji Business Centre and this has almost become a daily cycle.

“Residents are living in fear and they are tired of being harassed. They are calling for heavy police presence and a police post in the area as the ward has become a war zone. These gang members come and rent houses in the area while others use houses that are still under construction,” he said.

Also speaking during the same meeting National Peace and Reconciliation Commission Matabeleland South Provincial Peace Committee deputy chairperson who is also the secretariat of the Gwanda Local Peace Committee, Pastor Phathisiwe Dube said the local peace committee was seized with the matter to ensure the problem was resolved. She said they had engaged the police to ensure that a police base was opened to increase police visibility.

She said members of the business community operating in Ward Five raised concern as their property was being vandalised by the gangs.

“We held a meeting with Ward Five residents and they complained that some of these gambling and public drinking activities are taking place in the presence of the police and the culprits are not being arrested. As a committee we have engaged ZRP so that a police base is opened in the area and there is effective policing to ensure that members of the public are safe,” she said_The Chronicle

Mineral production set to increase, ED

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Mineral production set to increase, ED

Speaking at this year’s heroes commemoration held at the national heroes acre, the President of Zimbabwe Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa said that the mining sector is now driving towards full production due to the liberalisation of the interbank foreign currency exchange rate that has been put in place.

Rudairo Dickson Mapuranga

According to the president, the interbank exchange market produced tremendous results since its initiation and it is now attracting USD5 million a day.

“To date, the interbank trades average around US$5 million per day. We expect this to continue to increase on account of further liberalisation put in place by the Reserve Bank” said president Mnangagwa.

According to the president, through liberalisation, the mining, manufacturing and commerce will drive towards full production.

“The mining, manufacturing and commerce sectors of the economy should now drive full production ” said the president.

According to the president, the mining sector continues to receive investments due to the government liberalisation of different sectors.

According to the president ,the sector is receiving mining investments from both the exploration, mining setup and benefitiation sectors.

“In the mining sector we continue to receive investments through the expansion of existing projects, exploration, the opening of new mines as well as mineral benefiation ” said Mnangagwa.

The president also urged miners to transform the mining sector through hard work and honesty.

The president also urged miners to transform the mining sector through hard work and honesty.

Norton Miners advocate for the African ground breaking ceremonies

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Norton Miners advocate for the African ground breaking ceremonies

The myths surrounding the African mining sector raises a lot of debates and arguments which at times would lead to conflicts between people of different religious backgrounds . recently Norton miners held a Bira with traditional leaders in an attempt to demystify the myth surrounding the sector.

Rudairo Dickson Mapuranga

The traditional Bira for all miners was attended by famous Zimbabwean traditional leaders among them Chief Chivero and Tenzi Nehoreka, who are considered to be the real custodians of Zim culture.

According to Norton Miners Association chairperson Privilege Moyo, the traditional Bira for all miners is a pioneer event in trying to bring spiritual land ownership and the physical. It is the African ground breaking mining ceremony which is a missing link in Zimbabwe’s mining sector.

“We want to follow our traditional beliefs as miners because even in the western world they do their own ground breaking ceremonies. Why should we copy them when our ancestors had their own ground breaking ceremonies in their mines?”

“African ground breaking ceremony is the missing link in the mining industry in Zimbabwe” said Moyo

Norton Member of Parliament Hon Temba Mliswa said that the event was long over due, traditional leaders should be involved in community development projects and mining is an underground project which is undeniably dangerous therefore it requires experts who operate in realms.

Themba also said that his constituency is engaging in various businesses since development is a bottom up approach.

According to the traditional leaders, it is very crucial for miners to follow laws of the land . Hence they should not include foreign ancestors when mining in the land of Zimbabwe, a country which has its own ancestors.

“We are not supposed to call Abraham or whoever when digging in Chief Chivero’s area, the area belongs to Dzimbahwe, the ancestors of Zimbabwe” said Tenzi Nehoreka.

Spiritual partnership

According to Tenzi Nehoreka, every stone and minerals found in certain areas in Zimbabwe belong to the people of that particular area therefore it is necessary for miners to respect the spiritual significance of the area by seeking permission from Chiefs and spirit mediums who are the representatives of the people.

Nehoreka also blasted government policies for being Eurocentric, according to Nehoreka all the laws in Zimbabwe are meant to benefit white people and politicians are doing nothing to right this wrong except fighting each other everyday.

Nehoreka said African prophets (spirit mediums) and Chiefs should be given enough power through the constitution so that they bring people together regardless of their political differences.

“When you want to mine, first consult spiritual leaders in order for them to open doors of blessings from the ancestors of Zimbabwe,” he said.

Spiritual laws

The traditional leaders warned miners against going to witch-doctors seeking luck and other charms because this is against Zimbabwean ancestors.

They were also warned against rowdy behaviors in mining areas, killing each other with machetes and they were also urged to desist from  sexual activities during working hours.

“You must not visit n’anga  or engage in sexual activities when going to your mines or during working hours, do not be promiscuous , you must shun violence!,” exclaimed Tenzi Nehoreka .

Nehoreka also said that, although they can own and manage mines ,women are not supposed to go underground to dig as this will anger the ancestors.

“Women are ‘kings’ they should be provided for by men, therefore they should never go into pits as this is against our own culture and tradition, doing so will anger our ancestors ,” he said.

However, women in mining were not happy with Nehoreka’s sentiments . The representative  of women in Norton Miners Association , Pamela is of the view that the move will see more women having low self –esteem and being looked down upon by their workers.

Physical deals

According to Chief Chivero,  if the people unite and adhere to their agreements,  their mining operations will be blessed.

“Zimbabweans are united , we do our  businesses in harmony whist honouring our agreements , the spiritual world will also be happy” said Chief Chivero

Fidelity printers to fund Zim school of mines in educating Mash West Miners

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Fidelity printers to fund Zim school of mines in educating Mash West Miners

Mash west province has come up with an initiative to conduct workshops intended to educate small scale and artisanal miners on how to conduct appropriate mining operations . This was necessitated by the need to reduce the rate of fatalities being recorded as a result of  mining misconducts.

Mirirai Melissa Ngoya

It has been seen and proven that a lot of Zimbabwean citizens are making a living through mining operations ,as such  Mash West province has come up with  an initiative to teach artisanal and small scale miners on how to conduct proper mining operations  in order to reduce accidents during operating times.

“Fidelity Printers and Refiners will fund Zimbabwe School of Mines in training artisanal and small scale gold miners proper mining activities in Mash West by hosting workshops in the province from mid-October” said Chipangura .

“The main purpose of this workshop is to equip our people with mineral beneficiation ideas and these workshops will go a long way in educating the artisanal and small scale miners,” she said.

Mash west chairperson highlighted that this was necessitated by the need to protect these miners after several tragic events were encountered in the sector because workers are not highly trained .

The ZMF Mash West chairperson Chiedza Chipangura said, “Workshops on health and safety issues during the mining process have been conducted .This time around, it is targeting to support Mash West mining activities through the help of Zim School of mines funded by Fidelity Refiners.”

She added on , “the workshops on safety issues will be centered  on ventilation, chemical use, explosives, and underground support during mining operations so as to minimize death rates .”

Chiedza told Mining Zimbabwe that there was a significant increase in death rates due to improper small scale mining activities. Mash West has suffered indisputably with fatalities recorded adding to the loss of thirty lives due to the fact that workers are not well trained.

Risky mining techniques are causing horrific accidents such as electrocution, ground fall, shaft collapse, etc.

“There has been numerous death records in different chrome and gold mines adding up to almost sixty fatalities between the period of June 2018 and 2019”

Coming up with workshops will ensure massive production in the mining industry . With artisanal and small scale miners being well trained , it is undeniable that the nation will yield ominously.

 

 

Mining anticipated to boost agriculture

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Mining anticipated to boost agriculture

It is anticipated that the mining sector will reinvigorate Zimbabwe’s economy ,as such farmers are beginning  to venture into the mining industry in a way to boost their farming activities. Farmers are looking forward to get hold of mineral claims since minerals are situated in the area they operate in.

Mirirai Melissa Ngoya

The fact that a mining license holds much power than a letter of objection has stirred interest in some farmers as they are beginning to venture into the mining industry.  According to the current law in the mining sector, a mining license is very influential hence farmers don’t stand a chance in terms of questioning the operations being done by miners on their farms.

Subsequently, this has been an eye opener to the farmers as they deemed it necessary to venture into the mining industry in order to secure their land and resources.

There have been numerous reports of conflicts between miners and farmers over land issues and this time the Norton Farmers Association (NFA) is opting to take part in the mining activities since their farming lands are being invaded by the small scale miners and in return, they don’t benefit from those mining operations.

The councilor of NFA said, “ignorance made us overlook on the fact that a farmer can also hold a mining claim if he/she discovers that there are potential mineral deposits on that farm”.

He added on saying “with that in mind, we are encouraging every farmer who aspires to be part and parcel of the mining industry to go and register for his / her claim and get a license”

This was raised as an attempt to boost agricultural activities and also as a way of securing their farming lands from the small scale miners.

Further, this initiative can be seen as an opportunity that will significantly boost the farming  industry since it is so apparent that agricultural activities are deteriorating due to inadequate water supply . Thus , farmers will now begin to utilise the dual benefits of the land by venturing  into mining.

Speaking to Mining Zimbabwe, Privilege Moyo said ,“farmers can also own a mine, so be wise and secure your lands. There is a lot of gold mineral reserves in your farming lands so it high time for you to get hold of a mining license before someone comes your way.”

It is critical to note that mining and farming are the major industries that are sustaining Zimbabwe’s economy hence it will benefit the nation if farmers are part and parcel of the mining operations.

More so, they can also profit  from mining considering  the fact that  inadequate rainfall has been crippling the industry  leading to poor yields . Hence it is a wise idea that farmers are beginning to venture into the mining industry taking full control of their land making sure that small scale miners will not claim authority over their lands.

Gold prices set to increase , ASM liberalisation for more Fidelity deliveries

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Gold prices set to increase , ASM liberalisation for more Fidelity deliveries

Goldman Sachs group has predicted that, gold prices will hit $1. 575 in 3 months and $1. 600 in 6 months from $1.500 per ounce.  According to Norton legislator Hon Temba Mliswa, the government needs to liberalise, support urgent exploration as well as to capitalise in order to gear up the sector towards future competition.

Rudairo Dickson Mapuranga

According to Goldman Sachs Group, the gold prices are set to escalate since the US-China trade wars will eventually weaken the Yuan hence gold becomes the safety net.

Commenting on this development, Hon Mliswa said that the government needs to implement policies that support the sector and maximise productivity.

“As long as US/China Trade war goes on and Yuan weakens, gold becomes the safety net and we must implement policies that support the sector and maximise productivity ” said Temba Mliswa.

According to Mliswa, as long as artisanal miners are not formalised, delivery to Fidelity is going to be limited since they will be selling their gold on the black market.

Mliswa added on saying that, illegal gold miners should be arrested to sanitise the sector.

“For as long as illegal miners aren’t surrendering gold and aren’t formalised, we won’t reap the benefits of return”

“Syndicates that create leakages must be plugged. It’s about time these ring leaders were arrested” said Hon Mliswa.

Mliswa also encouraged Zimbabwe Miners Federation to advocate and work hard to curb gold leakages.

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