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Investee Company News

KCM Warns Of Caving In Of Ground At Nchanga Open Pit

Konkola Copper Mines has called for safety precautions among employees and residents who live near its Nchanga Open Pit mine as assessments have indicated that there will be a possible caving in of ground in the area.

“Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) wishes to inform members of the Public and the community of the Nchanga North (Buyantanshi Township, Buntungwa ward) in particular that the company has detected tension cracks, which have caused slope instability at the Nchanga Open Pit (Cut 2) mining area. Konkola Copper Mines’ geotechnical assessments have indicated that cracks will cause a slough (caving-in of ground), which could occur as early as 1 st July 2020. KCM technical assessments indicate that there will be no risk of ground instability to households on the perimeter of the mining area,” KCM has stated.

“As a safety precaution residents of the area are advised not to stray into the Nchanga Open Pit (Cut 2) mining area for their own safety.”

It stated that Zambia Police and KCM Security Personnel have been deployed to patrol the exclusion area.

“KCM is taking all necessary measures to safeguard the lives of employees and members of the community, as well as company, public and private property,” it stated.

Sources: https://zambiareports.com/2020/07/04/kcm-warns-caving-ground-nchanga-open-pit/
Investee Company News

Mopani denies Owing Kitwe City Council K58 million

Mopani Mines has accused Kitwe City Council of increasing rates by 600% outside the binding agreement.

On Wednesday, Kitwe City Council bailiffs pounced on Mopani Copper Mines in an attempt to collect various properties after the mining company refused to pay the K58 million owed to the local authority under the new valuation roll as approved by the rating tribunal.

But in a statement, Mopani also refuted reports that it owes Kitwe City Council a staggering K58 million in Property rates.

The mining giant alleges that it entered into a 5-year agreement with Kitwe City Council in 2015 to pay K8 million a year and that the agreement remains valid until end of 2020.

“Earlier this year the Council without prior consultation, increased the rates to K58 million (+600 percent) contrary to the provisions of the Agreement, and rejected Mopani’s offer to pay the undisputed amount of K8 million while negotiations were ongoing.“

Mopani Copper Mines PLC has since disputed the rates in the High Court, which granted a Stay of Execution against the award of the new rates.

“Mopani remains a long standing partner to Kitwe City Council. The act of sending bailiffs to collect a disputed debt, which is still before the Court of law is concerning. Mopani has since made the full payment for the undisputed K8 million and remains hopeful of a swift conclusion to the matter,” read part of the statement.

But Kitwe City Council says it dismayed by Mopani’s statement claiming that it has increased the rate by 600%.

In clarifying the matter, the council has indicated that the agreement Mopani is alluding to in its statement was tied to the life of the 2014 Valuation Roll which expired in 2019.

It said the preparation of the valuation roll is governed by the Rating Act No. 21 of 2018 and the process is very consultative as observed from the timeline of events which occurred during the review of the 2014 valuation roll.

The statement indicates that, on the 11th October 2019, the Council passed a resolution to propose the rate levy from K0.016 or 1.6 ngwee in the 2014 valuation roll to K0.0165 or 1.65 ngwee under the 2019 valuation roll giving the difference of K0.0005 representing an increment of 3%.

“The Council resolution on K0.0165 rate levy was published in the gazette on 14th October 2019 and in the print media on 16th October 2019 to invite the leaseholders to inspect the valuation roll which inspections ended on the 11th November 2019,” says the statement.

The Council has revealed that Mopani lodged an objection to the effect that the levy of K0.0165 was too high but did not dispute the value of properties on the roll.

“Thereafter, the Mine and the Local Authority held meetings to narrow the differences in opinion where it was agreed that parties proceed to seek the Valuation Tribunal decision on the rate levy proposed by the council. However, the Valuation Tribunal after hearing both parties, agreed with the Kitwe City Council accordingly. Consequently, the 2019 Valuation Roll came into effect on 1st January 2020.”

“Upon service of the bill, the mine sued the council and obtained a conditional stay of execution which elapsed by the date of execution” says the statement.

Kitwe City council has confirmed that, part payment of K8 million has been paid and the mine has committed in writing to resolve the remaining balance of K21,241,913.51 within five days from 1st July 2020 which is the date of the commitment letter.

This payment is for the period 1st January to 1st July 2020. The Council is hopeful that the mine will honor its commitment within 5 days as promised.

Kitwe City Council has further urged companies and residents to settle bills on time as the local authority requires resources in order to provide the much needed services.

Sources: https://www.lusakatimes.com/2020/07/03/mopani-denies-owning-kitwe-city-council-58-million/
Annual Report Summaries, Investee Companies

Zambia Gold Company Limited (ZGC) Extract from 2020 Annual Report

Zambia Gold Company (ZGC) commenced operations in the year 2020 and reported revenue of ZMW59.70 million for the period ended 31 December 2020. The revenue was generated from the first sale of 47.96Kg of gold to the Bank of Zambia. The net profit recorded for the year was ZMW32.02 million. Since production commenced in July 2020, ZGC has been conducting exploration activities to determine the available resource. ZGC continued with the second phase of hiring key staff including a Procurement Officer, Company Accountant, Metallurgist and Technical Officer, as well as establishing a corporate office in Lusaka. No dividend was declared or paid during the year.  
Industry News

Mines Minister urges Youth to take advantage and invest in Mineral Resources

Mines Minister Richard Musukwa has called on the young people to take advantage of the Kalumbila Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd and invest in Mineral Resources in order to reduce Youth Unemployment and provide livelihoods to local people in the country.

Mr Musukwa says Youths must consider having Hundred Percent (100%) shares in Mines so that the Mining Sector can start being dominated by local people.

The Minister has further encouraged Youths to participate in legal exploitation of Minerals in order to create Jobs , Empowerment and Contribute to the country’s GDP which will lead to a favorable GNP as the profits will remain in Zambia.

The Minister said, “if we have Mines owned by Zambians it means that the proceeds in terms of the Sales and operations will be fully zambian and will not be externalized and will be a plus to us” , He said such ventures when embarked upon will be supported.

He said mining remains Zambia’s comparative advantage in terms of its Economic Tragectory and we need to ensure that this resource is vested in the hands of Zambian Nationals using Legally Approved means not illegal means.

Hon Musukwa further said the Processes of License acquisition are streamlined, Open and Transparent and that Youths are encouraged to participate in Mining however only through Legal exploitation the mineral resources as this will lead to job creation, Empowerment and a significant contribution to the National Treasury.

Meanwhile, the Kalumbila Cooperative Society Chairman General, Mr Kennedy Mambwe has disclosed that the Cooperative will empower Students, Civil servants, Musicians and every Zambian.And Mr Mambwe has stated that women will be able to able to participate in mining through buying of Shares.

Mr Mambwe has disclosed that H.E the President of the Republic of Zambia has agreed to giving a mine to the musicians, civil servants and Students . He has further stated that disbursement of forms is starting this week around the Civil service so that civil servants can come on board to buy shares.

Sources: https://www.lusakatimes.com/2020/06/23/mines-minister-urges-youth/
Industry News, ZCCM-IH News

GOVT DETERMINED TO INCREASE STAKES IN MINES

Mines Minister Richard Musukwa says Government through ZCCM-IH is working towards increasing its stake of shareholding in mining firms.

And Mr. Musukwa has challenged emerald mining firms in Lufwanyama to invest in infrastructure development so that locals benefit from its mineral wealth.

The Minister was speaking when Kagem Limited donated medical supplies and oxygen ventilators to Nkana Health Center, at a cost of 1-Million Kwacha.

He said authorities want to see ZCCM-IH and Industrial Development Corporation-IDC play a major role in mining operations for citizens to derive maximum benefits.

Mr. Musukwa said Government will continue to create an enabling environment for both small and large scale mine operations to enable indigenous Zambians fully exploit the country’s wealth.

And Copperbelt Province Permanent Secretary Bright Nundwe said Government continues to embrace new investments in the sector.

Meanwhile,  Chief Nkana of Lufwanyama District assured authorities that traditional leaders are actively supplementing Government efforts in the fight against COVID-19.

Meanwhile Lufwanyama Member of Parliament Leonard Fungulwe hailed Government for embarking on the upgrading of feeder roads in his area.

Source: https://www.znbc.co.zm/news/govt-determined-to-increase-stakes-in-mines-2/

 
Industry News

COVID-19 slashes mining revenues by 30%

MINING companies’ revenues in Zambia have drastically fallen by around 30 per cent over the three-month period, February-April 2020, mainly triggered by the deep impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on slashing copper earnings.

According to Zambia Chamber of Mines data, the COVID-19 virus has cut Zambian mining companies’ copper sales as a result of a disruption in the mining supply chain, which facilitates the export of the red metal to foreign markets.

Data reveals that the severe global restrictions on movement have wreaked havoc on the mining supply chain, and hindered the export and sale of copper, and that the copper price collapse early in the crisis, though has since strengthened, is still down on average by 12 per cent over the period when compared to 2019.

The fall in mining revenues is mirrored exactly in the fall in mineral royalty payments, as royalties are levied on each tonne of copper that is sold.

“For the industry, royalty payments are estimated to have come in at approximately US $60-65 million over the three months, rather than the US $90 million that could have been expected. This simple calculation illustrates how closely government revenues mirror the fortunes of the mining industry,” the statement read.

Commenting on the mining industry’s dwindling earnings, Chamber chief executive officer Sokwani Chilembo stated that mining companies had, however, performed well in maintaining production amid the COVID-19 crisis.

“The industry has done a magnificent job of maintaining production over this difficult period. But, for various reasons, revenues have fallen massively. Zambia’s miners have been battling even higher costs for years, and we are concerned about the potential consequences of such a big hit to earnings occurring now,” stated Chilembo.

“Furthermore, in this extraordinary period we are living through, it is impossible to accurately forecast where we will be even a few months from now. When will we be out of the woods? No-one can tell. We hope that some of the revenue pressures may ease in the months to come. But we are unlikely to be entirely free of them for at least 12 months, and quite probably longer.”

Sources: https://diggers.news/business/2020/06/20/covid-19-slashes-mining-revenues-by-30/
ZCCM-IH News

What they missed about the golden ambitions of ZCCM-IH

There is a livelihood that has been the bedrock of small-scale mining since time in memorial. The men, women, and children from across the world who wake up eat morning in search of pieces of minerals that promise to change their lives. Ironically though, though the informal nature and on the whole un-mechanized operation that is artisanal mining generally results in low productivity, the sector represents an important livelihood and income source for the poverty affected local population.

These miners deserve structure to participate in the Gold mining value chain.

One country that has had its fair share of artisanal mining in Brazil. In their article aptly titled “Policies and regulations for Brazil’s artisanal gold mining sector: analysis and recommendations“, Rodolfo Sousa et al. published in the Journal of Cleaner Production stated that “In Brazil, artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) produces in the range of 6 tonnes of gold (Au) per annum, and employs approximately 200,000 people. Most of this mining activity is in the Amazon region, where miners have been extracting gold for more than 40 years. In the Tapajos River Basin, assessments indicate that around 99% of miners operate without the environmental and mining permits required by law. This is a result of a combination of unrealistic or lack of proper policies and regulations, lack of political will, lack of infrastructure to enforce the existing regulations, and lack of incentives to miners to comply with legal requirements”.

In present-day Zambia, artisanal gold miners who have long been “mining” alluvial gold which can easily be obtained on the surface have been exploited by environmental elements that have taken advantage of the lack of structure around their operations. This includes the lack of security, lack of health and safety mechanisms, lack of a trusted market for the gold, and devoid of traceability among others. These are all factors that make up the fulcrum of sustainable and the now trending ethical mining.

According to mining.com and echoed at this year’s Mining Indaba in February 2020, “the ethics of any business-related operation have never been more in focus and prone to scrutiny – and the natural resources industry is no exception, indeed it should, in principle, be one of the most attentive, given its transformative qualities where landscape and labour are concerned”. What this means is that for artisanal miners in Zambia to carve a roadmap that will see them sit at the same table as the AngloGold Ashanti of this world, there has to be structure in what they are doing.

With the first step being taken by Government to give artisanal miners gold panning certificates to legalise their alluvial or riverbed gold mining activities, the next logical step was to bring forth infrastructure that would enable the transition of the artisanal miners to high yielding mining. This has been made possible by ZCCM Gold which has been established to work with these licenced artisanal gold miners by providing them with gold equipment, access to earth-moving machinery, and offering technical expertise among others.

Source: https://fizambia.com/?p=7205
Investee Company News, ZCCM-IH News

ZCCM-IH charts way forward for Ndola Lime

Three months after the ZCCM IH management team signalled a way forward for their distressed asset, Ndola Lime, a way forward has been established, according to a statement from the investment group.

In March 2020, ZCCM IH announced the appointment of a Business Rescue Administrator (BRA) who would oversee the much need turnaround of Ndola Lime. The BRA had commenced the process of restructuring the operations of NLC with a view to creating a business that will take over the running of the limestone operations sustainably.

With over K1 billion kwacha already sunk into the lime company over the last 10 years, the entity continued making losses from operations. According to year on year annual reports from ZCCM IH in the last 5 years, indications of the causes of the challenges the entity was facing emanated from its core asset (Vertical Kiln).

In the 2012 AR, ZCCM IH reported that it had recapitalized Ndola Lime Company through a shareholder loan of K28.7 million (US2.82 million) for the NLC Recapitalization Project. At the time of publishing the 2016 AR, the Second Vertical Kiln (VK-2) was still undergoing hot commissioning.

Fast forward to the 2017 AR, it appears that the hot commissioning phase of the Recapitalization Project was met with a series of technical hurdles that affected the performance of the company. Small wonder why in the 2017 AR this particular update appeared under the “Strategic New Investments” section of the report? We asked the question because according to the 2017 AR, the Board was undertaking a review of the entire operation of the Ndola Lime to determine an appropriate option that will result in improving operations of NLC as well as the performance of the Group. This marked the first strong single that it was only a matter of time that the management team at ZCCM IH would make the strategic decision of bringing on board the BRA to turnaround this operation.

The task for the BRA according to the published statement from ZCCM IH entails the rollout of restructuring proposals in the Scheme of Arrangement which include:

  1. The creation of a New Company (NewCo);
  2. The restructuring of the liabilities of NLC;
  3. The transfer of the assets and business of Ndola Lime to the NewCo;
  4. Retrench, pay and transfer the employees of NLC to the NewCo; and,
  5. Dissolve NLC with or without winding up.

The new company is a vehicle that is being used as part of the road map to financial health. The management team is well aware that there was need to start life anew for this segment of their portfolio and hence why the NewCo has been incorporated and is known as Limestone Resources Limited (LRL) 100% owned by ZCCM-IH.

According to their published statement, “at a Final Creditors Meeting held on the 10th June 2020, the creditors passed a special resolution to approve the Restructuring Proposals as contained in the Scheme of Arrangement and the main objectives of the restructuring plan are for NLC’s successor company, LRL, to commence operations on a clean slate, debt-free, recruit a new management to spearhead the re-orientation of strategy and operations without any legacy problems associated with NLC”.

Limestone Resources Limited begins life anew and will address the challenges that were faced in Ndola Lime’s resources and capabilities. Without the institutional memory that Ndola Lime held, the management team at LRL can choose to cut the losses of Ndola lime and attract fresh capital to revamp the business. Furthermore, LRL can adopt its own business strategy that can relook at the manufacturing of quicklime (calcium oxide), slaked lime (calcium hydroxide), cement, and mortar which are typical limestone business segments and carve out the best option going forward that can create value for ZCCM IH. Furthermore, LRL can also decide to partner up with other successful entities in the same sector so that mistakes of the past are avoided.

Investors will be pleased with this move as a way forward for the investment group’s Achilles heel has been found.

Source: https://fizambia.com/?p=7195

limestone
Investee Company News

Ndola Lime’s metamorphosis to Limestone Resources as shareholder seeks recapitalization

Once upon Limestone giant in Africa’s second largest copper producer, Ndola Lime Company, has undergone drastic metamorphosis in the quest to rally back to profitability. After grappling with insolvency and financial woes amassed over close to a decade on the back of hard core debtors, the limestone producer and once pillar of Ndola is coming back to life. This follows efforts to capitalize, resuscitate and inject back operational resilience into the Copperbelt’s city.  Ndola Lime will now operate under a new name, Limestone Resources Limited – LRL fully owned by Lusaka Securities Exchange mining investment vehicle ZCCM-IH Plc.

Due to negative jaws, NLC has struggled to be a key employer and heart beat of Ndola, a position which it housed together with the likes of Indeni Oil Refinery in times when State Owned Entities – SOEs were still viable. However it is hoped that with the proposed re-strategization, the new legal entity, LRL will seek to drive limestone production as a going concern and will breathe life into the provincial capital of Zambia’s Copperbelt province.

June 10, marked the final turning point for the defunct Ndola Lime Company as a special resolution of creditors was passed to finalise restructure the Limestone producer through a scheme of arrangement plan. The scheme of arrangement provided for creation a new entity, restructure the NLC liabilities, transfer of the NLC business to the new entity, address the remuneration needs of NLC resources with smooth transition to the new entity and dissolution of NLC with or without winding up.  

The meeting established that LRL will commence operations totally free of debt under new management that will re-orient strategy and drive performance harder to profitability and viability. Limestone Resources Ltd shareholders will proceed with capitalization initiatives.

The implication of the metamorphosis is that Ndola Limes business will continue but under a new name whose management is earmarked to commence in 3Q20. 

ZCCM-IH is currently in the process of obtaining statutory and other approvals to facilitate the transition of NLC to LRL.

The processes of approvals, transfer, recruitment and recapitalization are estimated to take half a year from August 2020.

LRL has immense potential to further break into cement production following the ICBC $550million deal that ZCCM-IH signed up with Industrial Commercial Bank of China for a cement plant. Until this is completed, LRL has a readily available market for limestone in the mines.

The Kwacha Arbitrageur

Sources: https://thebusinesstelegraph.com/2020/06/15/ndola-limes-metamorphosis-to-limestone-resources-as-shareholder-seeks-recapitalization/
Investee Company News, ZCCM-IH News

ZCCM-IH’S EYES ON NDOLA LIME

ZCCM IH is currently in the process of obtaining statutory and other approvals to facilitate the transition of Ndola Lime Limited to the newly created company Limestone Resources Limited.

The proposed restructuring plan will ensure the continuation of Ndola Lime business under a different entity name Lime Resources Limited.

The move comes after ZCCM-IH was granted an order by meeting of creditors to consider and approve the scheme of arrangement.

ZCCM-IH Public Relations Manager Loisa Kakoma says the restructuring proposed in the scheme involves creating a new company, restructuring the liabilities of Ndola lime and dissolve Ndola Lime with or without winding off.

Mrs. Kakoma says the main objective of the plan are for Ndola Lime’s Successor company to commence business on a clean slate, recruit a new management and spearhead the formation of the new strategy.

She says this new approach will ensure workers welfare is taken into consideration, debt is resolved and ensure the company’s assets are secured.

Meanwhile Mrs. Kakoma said the processes of approvals, transfer, recruitment and recapitalization will take approximately six months from August 2020.

She said in a statement to ZNBC news that the achievement of the objective will enable the effective recapitalization of the business.

Source: https://www.znbc.co.zm/news/zccm-ihs-eyes-on-ndola-lime/