1. Huge diamond and gold deposits have been discovered in Mwenezi and Chiredzi in a massive boost for the country’s economy as the resources are expected to help the Government meet its target of transforming the mining sector into a US$12 billion industry by 2023.
The discovery of the minerals around the Chingwizi area at Nuanetsi Ranch and northern parts of Chikombedzi, followed an aero-magnetic survey commissioned by Government through the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development last year.
A local firm, Aero Surv Zimbabwe, partnered a South African firm Xcalibur Airborne Geophysics, in the survey which was launched by Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando at Buffalo Range Airport last year.
Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Ezra Chadzamira said the discovery of the two minerals bodes well for the economy. Source: The Herald.
2. Mimosa Mining Company executive, Ms. Elizabeth Nerwande, along with her leadership at the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe (CoMZ) were recently re-elected into office for their second and final term without contestation.
This followed a virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) convened by the executive committee for the Chamber on the 28th of May 2020, during which the membership reposed its confidence in Ms. Nerwande (president), Engineer Demand Gwatinetsa (vice president), Mr. Colin Chibafa (vice president) and Mr. Batirai Manhando (immediate past president).
In her acceptance speech, Ms. Nerwande expressed her gratitude to the executive committee of the Chamber for the confidence in re-electing her and the rest of the presidium.
Ms. Nerwande said together with the entire team at the Chamber they have the daunting task of navigating through the obtaining difficult operating environment characterised by power disruptions, inadequate foreign exchange allocations, high cost structures and capital shortages.
She said her role and that of the rest of the presidium remains that of energising the team at the Chamber, working as a collective and tapping into the expertise and experience of each one of them. Source: Bulawayo 24.com.
3. THE Government is committed to formalising operations of artisanal and small-scale miners as it moves to enable them to contribute effectively to the mining sector.
A majority of the miners are not formalised making it difficult for authorities to quantify how much the sector adds to the economy and also disturbing Government’s efforts to render support to the miners. However, the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has noted the immense value that artisanal and small-scale miners add to the economy and is making headway in formalising the sector.
Data obtained from the Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation (ZMF) stated that there were 1,5 million small-scale miners across the country but only 30 000 were registered. In an interview, Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development Engineer Polite Kambamura said Government was well aware of the need to formalise small-scale mining.
“The formalisation of artisanal miners is still work in progress. More is still to be done in the artisanal mining sector in terms of formalisation and capacitation,” he said.Source: Sunday News.
4. Analysts say the en masse resignation of the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company, ZCDC board exposes how political interference in state enterprises is prejudicing revenue flows into the national fiscus.
The entire ZCDC board resigned in protest over predatory contracts signed with Non-Disclosure Agreements NDA, penned with investors which they felt was likely to exacerbate revenue losses.
Ostensibly created to enhance transparency and accountability in the extraction of gems, ZCDC has failed to live up to expectations, says Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association ZELA, board member professor Tumai Murombo. Source 263chat.com.
5. The International Council on Mining and Metals said company members had donated more than US$315 million to global COVID-19 response efforts, as it outlined the industry’s support to nations, communities and supply chains in a briefing this month.
However, it said the figure only scratched the surface of the work being done by members and cited in-kind efforts, along with other support for health care including the donation of hospitals.
The briefing noted in South Africa, Anglo American had made its Highveld Hospital available for treating COVID-19 cases and AngloGold Ashanti had donated two hospitals.
It said Gold Fields’ South Deep mine had committed to continue to pay small, medium-sized and microenterprise service providers and small-scale contractors the equivalent of ZAR22 million (US$1.25 million) for the period it was under care and maintenance, due to the country’s COVID-19 restrictions. Mininjournal.com
