Premier African Minerals Ltd. has issued another 1.18 billion shares to settle just £217,000 of creditor bills and unpaid salaries, pushing its total share count to 39.3 billion as the Zulu Lithium project remains years away from generating any revenue, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
The London-listed miner printed 881.7 million shares to pay trade creditors and 295.8 million shares to clear accrued but unpaid salaries owed to former directors and consultants, according to a statement released today. The shares were issued at 0.0185 pence each, the same price as the company’s last placing on May 13.
Six months ago, Premier had about 9.35 billion shares outstanding. Today, it has 39.3 billion. That is more than a fourfold increase in the space of half a year, accomplished through a relentless series of equity fundraises, interest conversions, and creditor settlements. Not one of those transactions has been accompanied by a single pound of revenue from spodumene concentrate sales.
The company’s market capitalisation, based on today’s issue price, is approximately £7.3 million, spread across nearly 40 billion shares. Each share is now worth a fraction of a penny, and the market has long since priced in what Premier’s upbeat press releases will not admit: the project has destroyed shareholder value on a scale that makes recovery all but impossible.
Operationally, Premier says the new Xinhai flotation plant at Zulu has completed most cold commissioning activities using water and is preparing to introduce ore. Hot commissioning is still targeted for the second quarter of 2026, which ends in five weeks. Even if that deadline is met, Zimbabwe’s government suspended lithium concentrate exports months ago, and Premier has not secured a firm exemption, only stating that it remains “in dialogue” with the Ministry of Mines.
Managing Director Graham Hill said in the statement that the company is pleased with progress, but the financial reality contradicts the optimism. Each new share issuance transfers ownership from existing holders to new entrants at fire-sale prices, and the latest 1.18 billion shares were issued simply to clear debts that would barely buy a modest house in London.
Premier may eventually commission the flotation plant and produce spodumene concentrate. But with nearly 40 billion shares already in issue, and more dilution almost certain if commissioning slips again, the question for shareholders is no longer whether Zulu can work. It is whether there will be any equity left worth owning by the time it does.
