AFRICAN BUZZ •
MALI:
GOLD MINE REPORTS VIRUS
CASE IN MALI
ZAMBIA:
ZAMBIA TO THE DOLDRUMS
Canadian company B2Gold announced that an employee at the
Fekola exploration camp, located approximately five kilometres
from the Fekola mine site, has tested positive for the COVID-19
virus. The Fekola Mine, owned by the Company (80%) and the
State of Mali (20%), is located in southwestern Mali on the
border between Mali and Senegal, about 210km south of Kayes
and approximately 40km south of the city of Kéniéba.
As the positive case occurred in the exploration camp, some
distance from the main Fekola mine site, operations have not
been impacted to-date and the mine continues to operate at full
capacity.
According to a statement by B2Gold the employee tested
positive for the COVID-19 virus on April 15, 2020, after starting
to experience cold-like symptoms on April 12, 2020 and was
immediately isolated at the Fekola exploration camp. The
individual remains in quarantine at the camp and is being
monitored by company doctors and the local Kéniéba Health
Authority. At the time of writing, the employee was in a stable
condition with only moderate symptoms.
Leon Louw
Zambia’s economy is creaking as world economies collapse as a result of
Covid-19.
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Zambia to CC, joining Moody’s
which recently downgraded the country to Ca. Fitch notes
that the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the copper
producing countries’ external liquidity conditions while
remarking that a default is probable as the government is likely
to embark on a liability management exercise of its external
debt. Of concern is the fact that external debt payments due
in 2020 are 115% of gross international reserves, this while the
currency (against the dollar) remains under pressure.
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African Mining • May 2020 • 9