COUNTRY IN FOCUS
Light at the end of the tunnel?
Despite the seemingly endless obstacles, there are companies currently
developing new projects and several expansions are underway, which is an
indication that there still is at least some faith in the Zimbabwean story.
Manganese Crushtech Systems is currently working on a project to supply
spares support to the Eureka gold mine, which has been closed for almost
two decades, and looks set to become one of the biggest gold mines in
Zimbabwe. Furthermore, Mackenzie says that a Waste Dump retreatment
project is being considered at Bikita Minerals.
“In general, progress on the platinum front has been good. The Great Dyke is
fairly well-explored, and one needs only to select the prospective area along
it upon which to pitch the tent. Global Investments, a company with Chinese
roots, also have a concession but are not active,” says Kuchocha.
He further adds that it seems that more companies are getting involved in
the diamond sector. Vast Resources has recently concluded a shareholder
agreement, paving the way for investment into the Heritage Diamond
Concession in the eastern part of the country. Another company in the
eastern highlands, Anjin, who was prevented by government to mine
before, has reportedly won a court case to go back to its concession,
and is in the process of mobilising equipment to start mining. These two
companies join the two main companies; Murowa Diamonds, a private
company and the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company ZCDC,
a state-owned company. Unsurprisingly the latter is poorly capitalised
and hopes to attract private-sector partners in order to make investment
meaningful. Alrosa is also in the process of negotiating its way into
establishing a diamond exploration company.
Mining coal at Hwange a number of years ago. Bad planning has resulted in
a decrease in production at the mine.
Bulawayo is unclear as the drilling contract could not be concluded due to
lack of agreement on pricing structure with the drilling contractor.
According to Kuchocha the government has done much to encourage
investment in mining, however, he adds that it has not been enough.
“They have good intentions, but until these intentions are written into
law, investors may not be fully persuaded. It is good that the government
encourages investment, however, they should avoid the temptation
of turning it into a public relations spectacle. We need to focus on
building capacities and geological information needs to be available and
accessible,” he says.
Zimbabwe offers vast opportunities for junior mining companies. Kuchocha
says that small gold mines are dotted throughout the country. “These mines
can be upgraded to medium-scale mines with a bit more investment. On
the energy front, coal and coalbed methane mines can still be established
at a large scale. The vast coal resources must be made use of now because
technological advancement may render such commodities worthless in the
future,” says Kuchocha.
We look at further challenges and opportunities in Zimbabwe in the October
issue of African Mining.
Prospect Resources’s Arcadia Lithium Project, located east of Harare has been
quietly progressing. Production will commence later this year. The status of
Premier African Minerals’s Zulu Lithium project, about 80km north-east of
Kuchocha says that there are several projects in the pipeline for
development but these have not necessarily advanced to development
stage. Great Dyke Investments, a company with Russian roots, is carrying out
exploration and development work north of Harare in the Darweendale area
of the Great Dyke. This project is reported to have a budget of about
USD4-billion. Karo Mining, through their subsidiary, Karo Platinum, is
working on resource definition studies on their project north of Zimplats’s
Ngezi mine. They plan an open cast and underground mine of 14.4 million
tonnes per annum (Mtpa) run-of-mine ore.
Although there are a number of good coal deposits in Zimbabwe, only Hwange Colliery is currently producing.
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African Mining September 2019
29