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Miners in Congo face subcontracting limits under new rules

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Miners in Congo face subcontracting limits under new rules

Companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo will have to ensure subcontractors they hire are domestically owned under rules being implemented by the government.

The requirement adds to the raft of new measures mining companies have had to contend with over the past year, after the state in March 2018 raised taxes and other costs. Investors including Glencore Plc, Randgold Resources Ltd., China Molybdenum Co. and Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. operate in Congo, the world’s largest source of cobalt and a major producer of copper and other metals.

Congo’s subcontracting regulator, known as the ARSP, “will launch very soon a campaign to identify all companies that want to participate in subcontracting activities” before licensing them, according to a statement signed by Director-General Ahmed Kalej Nkand. All unauthorized companies “will be totally excluded from the market place.”

The reforms will require companies to verify that their existing subcontractors have made the necessary adjustments to their ownership structures, Vincent Rouget, senior Africa analyst at Control Risks, said in an emailed response to questions.  “The reforms are designed “to promote the emergence of the Congolese middle class and protect the national workforce,” — Kalej

“We expect inspections to start in the next few months,” he said. “Several provisions of the law are still ambiguous, and it is very possible companies could be found non-compliant and subject to fines despite their best efforts.”

Congo adopted a law in February 2017 that reserved the subcontracting market in all sectors of the economy for companies majority-owned by Congolese nationals and headquartered in the central African nation. The legislation hasn’t been implemented until now because its oversight body, the ARSP, wasn’t established until last May, and management not appointed until December.

The reforms are designed “to promote the emergence of the Congolese middle class and protect the national workforce,” Kalej, who headed Congo’s state-owned mining company Gecamines from 2010 to 2014, said in the statement dated April 26.

The ARSP will be part-financed by a 5% levy on the value of every subcontracting agreement, according to a decree signed by Prime Minister Bruno Tshibala last year. The fee is to be paid by the company commissioning the work, which can pass the cost on to the subcontractor, Kalej said by phone from Congo’s capital, Kinshasa.

The new mining code that Congo passed last year confirmed that subcontracting in the mining industry will be limited “to companies of which the majority of capital is held by Congolese.” The 2017 law permits companies to contract foreign-registered or foreign-owned local subcontactors when they can demonstrate “an unavailability or inaccessibility of expertise” to the ARSP, as long as the work doesn’t last longer than six months._Bloomberg News

Sibanye says platinum mine shaft shut until official probe

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Sibanye says platinum mine shaft shut until official probe

Sibanye Gold Ltd. was ordered to shut down the shaft at its Rustenburg platinum mine where 1,800 workers were trapped for as long as 10 hours on Tuesday after an accident with an underground transport system.

South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources issued a so-called Section 54 notice, barring the company from resuming operations at Thembelani shaft until a government mines inspector is satisfied that it’s safe to do so, said James Wellsted, a spokesman for Sibanye.

“We will not be producing today and, depending on our engagement with the department, hopefully we will resume very soon,” Wellsted said. While there hasn’t been “significant damage” to the shaft’s underground hoist system, Sibanye must also get an independent expert to certify it’s safe to restart operations, he said.

Sibanye shares slumped as much as 7.4 percent to the lowest since Feb. 5, paring this year’s gain to 25 percent.

All 1,800 trapped Sibanye miners are rescued, government says.

The incident 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) underground at one of Rustenburg’s four shafts revived concerns about safety at Sibanye’s operations. Last year, there was a spike in fatal accidents at the company’s gold mines, some of the world’s deepest._Bloomberg News

Miners not guilty of soldiers’ murder charge

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Miners not guilty of soldiers’ murder charge

The two Bindura suspected illegal miners popularly known as “maShurugwi” who were recently arrested for allegedly killing and assaulting two members of the Army in a scuffle over girlfriends, heaved a sigh of relief after the charges were on Thursday withdrawn before plea at the Bindura Magistrates’ courts.

Alexio Gumbato (36) and Job Chitsvimbo (age not given) were released by magistrate Maria Musika after the State failed to link the two with the charges.

Charges against the duo were that on April 19, the pair had a misunderstanding with three soldiers at a bar in Chiwaridzo high–density suburb, Bindura, over girlfriends.

The soldiers, Shaw Tizora (33), Tawanda Garega (35) and Pumulani Khuumani (30), were part of a team that was taking part in rehearsals for Independence Day celebrations in Bindura; they were camped at Chipadze Secondary School.

Khuumani was headed for the bar in the company of female friends, Lesley Chitabura (25) and Nyasha Ngozo (19), both from Chipadze suburb, when a scuffle allegedly broke out.

Khuumani allegedly assaulted Chitabura, who screamed for help, attracting the attention of Gumbato and Chitsvimbo, who rushed to the scene armed with knives and attacked the
soldiers.

Tizora and Garega are said to have died from the injuries, while Khuumani was rushed to a nearby police station, where he filed a report, before being taken to Bindura Provincial Hospital. He was treated and discharged.

Tariro Janhi appeared for the State._NewsDay

Mine owner shot 4 times

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Mine owner shot 4 times

A MINER from Filabusi has been arrested for allegedly fatally shooting a mine owner four times following a dispute over a pool ball that went missing during a game.

Xolani Ncube (35) of Mlenja area allegedly shot Samuel Donga, who was the owner of Marvel Mine in Filabusi, three times in the chest and once on the arm with a Ross revolver.

Ncube fled from the scene after committing the crime but handed himself to the police after five days.

He was not asked to plead when he appeared briefly before Gwanda magistrate, Miss Lerato Nyathi facing a murder charge and was remanded in custody to May 16.

Prosecuting, Miss Glenda Nare said Ncube surrendered himself at the police station on Tuesday after he had been on the run for five days.

She said Ncube had an altercation with Donga’s employees after a black ball went missing during a pool game.

“On 24 April Ncube was playing a pool game at Marvel Compound with Donga’s employees when the black ball went missing and he accused them of stealing it which resulted in a misunderstanding,” she said.

“Donga later heard about the matter and went to Ncube’s home in a bid to resolve the dispute. Donga arrived at Ncube’s home and accused him of attacking his workers. This didn’t go down well with Ncube who drew a Ross revolver from his waist and shot Donga three times in the chest and once on the left arm. Donga died on the spot and his body was taken to Filabusi District Hospital Mortuary.” 

Miss Nare said Ncube fled from the scene and went to his rural home where he hid the firearm and proceeded to Gwanda. She said on Tuesday, Ncube surrendered himself at the Gwanda Urban Police Station CID department. She said he led police to his rural home in Filabusi where he had hidden the firearm and it was recovered._The Chronicle

Central banks buy gold in quest for safety

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Central banks buy gold in quest for safety

Net buying by central banks reached 145,5 tonnes in the first quarter, 68 percent higher year-on-year. This is the highest volume of Q1 net purchases since 2013 (179,1 tonnes), comfortably exceeding the five-year quarterly average of 129,2 tonnes. On a rolling four-quarter basis, demand reached a record high for our data series of 715,7 tonnes.

Demand from this sector remains robust.

The factors that drove central bank net purchases to a 50-year high in 2018 remained relevant at the start of 2019.

Economic uncertainty caused by trade tensions, sluggish growth and a low/negative interest rate environment continued to weigh heavy on reserve managers’ minds. And geopolitics still cause consternation.

In the face of these challenges, central banks continued to accumulate gold.

Net buying was again notable, not only for its volume but also for its global spread. Russia was again the largest buyer, adding 55,3 tonnes in Q1. This brought gold reserves to 2 168,3 tonnes (19 percent of total reserves).

Russia bought 274,3 tonnes in 2018 – the fourth consecutive year of +200 tonnes increases – while drastically reducing its US Treasury holdings, as part of its “de-dollarisation” drive.

Shortly after the end of Q1, Sergey Shvetsov, deputy head of the central bank, stated that it is necessary to “increase forex and gold reserves even more” in the face of “persisting sanction risks”.

China reported net purchases of 33 tonnes in Q1, having begun buying gold again in December after a 25-month pause. Monthly net purchases by the PBOC have averaged 11 tonnes over the last four months. Total gold reserves now stand at 1 885,5 tonnes, less than 3 percent of total reserves.

Several other banks also made significant additions to gold reserves in Q1.

Ecuador bought gold for the first time since 2014, boosting gold holdings by 10,6 tonnes. Turkey also continued its programme of gold accumulation, purchasing 40,1 tonnes and India, which began purchasing gold again in 2018 after a nine-year hiatus, bought 8,4 tonnes in Q1. RBI gold reserves have now grown for 13 consecutive months, reaching 608,8 tonnes at the end of Q1. Kazakhstan (+11, 2 tonnes), whose gold reserves have now grown for 78 consecutive months, Qatar (+9, 4 tonnes) and Colombia (+6,1 tonnes) were also notable purchasers during the quarter.

Q1 saw country-level sales total 11,3 tonnes. This is the highest level of sales we have seen for some time and was primarily from three banks. Uzbekistan, which began reporting its gold reserves in March, sold 6,2 tonnes in Q1, while Mongolia (-3, 4 tonnes) and Tajikistan (-1 tonnes) were the only other banks whose reserves declined by at least one tonne.

It should be noted that our Q1 figure of 145,5 tonnes includes – as a sale – the 2015 US$1,6 billion (-42 tonnes) swap between Venezuela and Citibank, which expired in March and has yet to be reported via the IMF. — Online.

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11 year old girl died while panning

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11 year old girl died while panning

A Guruve primary schoolgirl 11, died on Sunday after being trapped in a disused mine shaft while mining gold. Her colleague escaped with minor injuries, NewsDay reports.

Violet Kumadiro of Kufandirori village, Kadzimwenje area in Guruve under Chief Chipuriro died on the spot when the shaft collapsed, while she was underground with her colleague Tryphine Tambudza (11).

Guruve district schools inspector Pinias Dambuza confirmed the incident.

“Yes, we lost a Grade 5 girl from Kadzimwenje Primary School over the weekend. The number of deaths of learners in Guruve is most disturbing to say the least,” Dambuza said.

“More awareness campaigns need to be undertaken by stakeholders in the area on disaster risk management, child labour and child protection as well as guidance and counselling. These need to be undertaken at all possible fora, the death of one pupil is one too many.”

When NewsDay arrived at the scene, the body of the deceased was being ferried to Guruve Hospital mortuary.

A witness, Muchaneta Mbida said the duo went down a shaft and suddenly a heap of sandy soil collapsed and trapped them.

“The girls entered a pit looking for gold and suddenly a heap of sand soil fell on them, Tambudza cried for help and was saved by Givemore Madiro (37) and she escaped with minor injuries while her colleague died on the spot.”_NewsDay

Cam and Motor, Renco gold production decreases 22 percent

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Cam and Motor, Renco gold production decreases 22 percent

ZIMBABWE Stock Exchange-listed miner RioZim’s Cam and Motor and Renco Mines closed the year end December 2018 with a gold production of 22 percent reduction from the previous year.

According to a statement issued by the group chairperson Lovemore Chihota, Kadoma based Cam and Motor Mine produced 458 kg in the first half of the year. However, due to falling recoveries and the temporary stoppage of operations, the Mine closed the year with a total production figure of 758 kg which demonstrated a 22% reduction from the prior year. While Masvingo based Renco Mine produced 591 kg in the first half of the year, 61 percent of the total year output which was a 22 percent reduction from the previous year.

While Cam and Motor Mine’s milling performances were excellent from the prior year according to the group’s chairperson, this did not translate to improved production due to the failing recoveries and ultimately this resulted in an increase in the production cost per ounce. However, according to Mr Chihota, the depressed output in the second half of the year at Renco Mine was attributed to under-performance in the milling section.

According to the statement, the deteriorating ability to access adequate foreign currency in the second half of the year hampered the company’s effort to procure consumable for the Mines which resulted in low plant availability and reduced milling time. The situation was exacerbated by the impromptu suspension of operations in Q4. Furthermore, Renco mine was unable to proceed with plans to develop an additional shaft to ramp up mining capacity due to the same constraints.

The statement further reads that, the Group is in the process of developing a Biological Oxidation (BIOX) Plant in order to treat the refractory ore reserves. Unfortunately, the scarcity of foreign currency held back the project in the year under review. Once operational, the BIOX Plant is expected to enable the Company to double its production output.

 

 

Dalny’s investment in exploration led to 8% production increase

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Dalny’s investment in exploration led to 8% production increase

RioZim group associate, Dalny Mine Compound Pco’s 2018 gold output increases by 8 percent from the previous year due to the company’s investment in exploration, despite the group’s gold production regressing by 13% to 1.792 tons which is less than the 2.071 tons produced the previous year.

According to the statement issued by RioZim chairperson Mr Lovemore Chihota, Dalny Mine produced 442 kilo grams of gold which is 8 percent increase from the previous year, necessitated by the Mine’s investment in exploration.

“Dalny produced 442kgs, an 8% increase from the prior year. The Company’s investment in exploration and development in the prior year resulted in the improved availability of ore sources with higher recoveries” he said.

The group’s chairperson also said that, the Mine’s improved milling also aided to its strong performance.

. “Improved milling also underpinned the strong performance” he said.

According to Chihota, shortages of foreign currency resulted in the delay of scheduled underground mining at the mine which would have further increased production. As a result, the mine could not access the rich underground ore resource, leading to lower grades of 2.57g/t against grades of 2.65g/t achieved in 2017.

Hwange demanding USD272 000 from former Managing Director

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Hwange demanding USD272 000 from former Managing Director

It has emerged that Hwange Colliery Company Limited (HCCL) is demanding USD272 000 from former managing director Makore as restitution for alleged shady payments made to him during his tumultuous four-year tenure at the company.

This came after an internal audit revealed that Makore had benefitted from monthly payments made to him without valid reasons throughout the four years he was employed by the company.

HCCL was placed under reconstruction late last year. This also follows a recent external audit by Ralph Bomment Greenacre & Reynolds which revealed serious corporate governance rot and plunder of the company’s finances on Makore’s watch.

Mines minister Winston Chitando, in a move largely seen as aimed at blocking the audit, dissolved the board midway through the probe and placed the company under reconstruction on the pretext that it was the only way to set it on the path to recovery and profitability.

The internal audit revealed that Makore received huge payments for his domestic workers on his monthly pay cheque, while at the same time they would get separate monthly payments from the usual HCCL payroll.

Makore allegedly received substantial amounts of money in advance payments, which he never paid back, according to an internal audit report seen by NewsDay.

The company is also demanding repayments for an unsupported “housing allowance” amounting to US$18 000 and an outstanding vehicle loan of US$73 000. In addition, Makore got US$82 000 without any supporting documents.

“Following a request by management to verify the balances due to the former managing director Stenjwa Thomas Makore who resigned on 23 May 2018, audit findings show that Mr Thomas Makore owes HCCL an amount of US$271 841,99. This includes cash advances not recovered, allowances not recovered, earnings without supporting documents and balance on a motor vehicle loan. We recommend full recovery of the amount owed and that the company stop any further payments to Makore,” the audit report read.

Cash advance payments, which have not been recovered to date, amount to US$249 443,50, including a housing allowance valued at US$114 004,80.

Vehicle loan balances that Makore is expected to pay back to the company is US$81 996, having accrued from February 2017 to May 2018.

Makore would also pay his domestic workers from the HCCL account and allegedly prejudiced the company of US$17 869,50.

Vehicle loan balances and other allowances he got without supporting documentation amount to US$72 872 and US$81 996, respectively.

Makore declined to comment, saying: “I have not seen the report so, therefore, I cannot comment. If you want anything else you can speak to my lawyer,” Makore said.

HCCL was placed under reconstruction in October 2018 after it emerged the company had become technically insolvent after years of corruption and mismanagement._NewsDay

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