GOLD Mining Cooperatives in Rufunsa are excited by President Edgar Lungu’s pronouncement that they will receive equipment and sales will be liberalised. The cooperatives have also requested to mine in the national parks where there is more gold. They have vowed that they will not allow foreigners to “steal” their God given resource. And President Edgar Lungu’s pronouncement that gold cooperatives be allowed to deal with any genuine buyers and not only ZCCM-IH have elated the artisanal miners. Rufunsa’s Chimwetu Gold Mining Cooperative Chairman, Emmanuel Tembo said the pronouncement was an indication that Government was serious with uplifting lives of Zambians.

What Emmanuel Tembo said…

“We are also elated to note that our two cooperatives, Chimwetu and Pokela will each receive their own equipment soon. This will help promote self-sufficiency in each group especially that we now have a wider market,” said Mr Tembo.

He however appealed to government to allow them go further and mine the deposits in the national park. Mr Tembo disclosed that during his recent visit to Rufunsa, President Lungu said assured the cooperatives that they were not restricted to only deal with ZCCM-IH. He said the Presidential assurance excited all cooperatives who initially thought that ZCCM-IH would monopolise the business in the area. Mr Tembo said that if the cooperatives were allowed to sell the gold to the best buyer then this would enable them to make favorable bargains. According to him, allowing for the market forces to determine the price of the commodity would enable the cooperatives to gain real value for the commodity. Mr Tembo also said the assurance by the President on the handover of the gold mining equipment was exciting. He however appealed to government to ensure that foreigners were removed from Rufunsa, saying that they were depriving the locals of their God-given wealth. “We are also elated to note that our two cooperatives, Chimwetu and Pokela will each receive their own equipment soon. This will help to promote self-sufficiency in each group especially that we now have a wider market,” said Mr Tembo. And Senior Headman Nyampande, John Mamba has requested the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Development and ZCCM-IH to give a clear roadmap regarding the formation of cooperatives for gold hosting communities to be engaged in the mining of the resource,. Bishop Mambo said Zambians were yearning to form cooperatives but were not guided on how it should be done. He said in an interview yesterday, it was important for the ministry and the relevant authorities mandated to oversee gold mining to give a clear picture on how the communities can be engaged in the mining of the resource. Bishop Mambo said only few cooperatives had been formed in the area because the communities had no proper information of how they could obtain the legal documents for them to start mining. Meanwhile Senior Headman Nyampande said it was unfortunate that he was not even approached by ZCCM-IH when it was putting the gold processing plant in his area. “How can the local people be employed if the ZCCM-IH has put a processing plant in my area and they have not approached me,” he said.

Source: https://www.pressreader.com/zambia/daily-nation-newspaper/20200609/281479278648754

In ZCCM-IH’s 2018 annual report, the investment group made a bold announcement when it unveiled its 2018 to 2023 strategic plan. Aptly titled “Taking Giant Steps”, the executive leadership announced that ZCCM-IH would pursue a transformational agenda that would permeate through all operational landmarks with a view to sustaining growth and value extraction for the benefit of its shareholders.

Till the announcement of the new strategic direction, the group had experienced periods of non-dividends being paid. Fortunes though were changing for its primary mined metal. “The improvement in the profitability is largely attributed to improved performance in investee companies due to continued upsurge in copper prices during the year”, read a statement in the 2018 annual report.

The management team understood that in order to deliver on shareholder promises, they needed to transform as an investment group. “We have chosen to transition the Company away from the traditional dependence on dividend income and have identified more forward-looking strategies which will improve revenue generation with predictability” echoed the Board Chairman in his letter to shareholders that year.

With an understanding that over-dependence on just copper, it was prudent for the firm to venture into ambitious projects that would allow it to create value. “These strategies will not only improve the Company’s cash position but will also facilitate organic growth as the Company will be better able to finance its investment projects”.

One of the things that ZCCM-IH has been good at when one reviews the last 10 years’ worth of annual reports that are readily on the ZCCM-IH investor website, there are a number of deals serve as a reminder of the expertise possessed by the group in structuring deals.

Nkana Alloy Smelting Company Limited

When ZCCM-IH had the appetite to participate in slag material processing, they retained a 10% shareholding in Nkana Alloy. According to the 2013 annual report, Nkana Alloy is a company formed jointly by ENRC (BVI) Limited who owns 90% of the total shareholding and ZCCM-IH. The company was formed for purposes of processing the slag material from the Nkana Slag Dump situated in Kitwe, Copperbelt province of Zambia. The slag material will be processed into a copper/cobalt alloy. The Slag Dump was previously part of Chambishi Metals Plc in which ZCCM-IH has a 10% stake. This is an example of a plain vanilla investment.

Cement Company Limited

When ZCCM-IH’s manufacturing appetite led them to seek out cement production, the Company entered into a Joint Venture partnership with Sinoconst for purposes of setting up a cement manufacturing company. According to the 2018 annual report, Central African Cement Company Limited (CAC) was incorporated and ZCCM-IH owned 49% of CAC while Sinoconst owns the remaining 51%. CACs operations will be located in Masaiti district in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia.

What is interesting was that ZCCM-IH moved in for 35% of the outfit that had a planned production capacity of the Plant of 5000 tonnes per day of Clinker with a two (2) by twenty five (25) MW Thermal Power Plant. It is expected that the Plant will take 3 years to construct and employ over 1000 people during construction. Once completed, the plant is expected to employ about 400 people.

However, due to the nature of how the deal was structured, in typical investment deal structuring, ZCCM-IH increased its stake in Central African Cement Company Limited (CAC) from the initial 35% to 49%, according to the 2019 annual report. This is an example that of a deal structured well that ensures that ZCCM-IH can actually increase its shareholding over the life of the asset.

Kariba Minerals Limited

On 7th November 2018, ZCCM-IH acquired an additional 50% shareholding in Kariba Minerals Limited (KML) which is Zambia’s largest Amethyst mine. This acquisition meant that ZCCM-IH now owned 100% shares in KML. The shares were acquired from Gemfields Limited at a total consideration of US$2,500,000. In line with their strategic vision, ZCCM-IH also started implementing strategic activities aimed at improving the production and marketing of amethyst at KML. This is an example of where ZCCM-IH moved in for a smaller chunk of the pie and ended up owning all of it over time.

On Gold

Much has been published about the Golden ambitions of ZCCM-IH. However, very little has been published about the track record of its investment stories. One thing a discerning reader needs to understand is that the investment cycle is not one day. This is why the ZCCM-IH strategic plan is 5 years. For the plan to achieve the groups’ ambitions to “transition the Company away from the traditional dependence on dividend income and have identified more forward-looking strategies which will improve revenue generation with predictability”, Gold ventures and other investment desires will need to be pursed. The fortunate thing for ZCCM-IH is that they have the track record in deal structuring which has been the reason for them declared a dividend year on year over the last 3 to 4 years.

Source: https://fizambia.com/?p=7127

THE ZCCM-IH says the slowness to formalise the mining of gold in Zambia is due to a combination of factors.

ZCCM-IH chief executive officer Mabvuto Chipata says the amount of gold deposits at Kasenseli in Mwinilunga district will only be known once exploration works are complete, in the next three months.

He said the mandate of the ZCCM-IH in the gold sub-sector, as given to it by the Bank of Zambia, was to harness the entire gold sub-sector in the country.

“Harnessing means that we should work with everyone within the mining sector to help them explore, to help them [to] mine, to market and to help them process. Ultimately for us to be able to have gold reserves in the Bank of Zambia,” Chipata said on ZNBC TV’s Sunday Interview programme. “So, our mandate is very wide on the entire value chain. We have to work with everybody within the sector to develop and formalise this sector.”

He explained that gold had been in Zambia for many years and that traditionally, “this has been mined by artisanal miners and even informal miners – instead of the word illegal miners.”

“Essentially, in every place where the [gold] occurrence is there, you have had our people using traditional methods to mine gold and usually this is alluvial gold which is found on river beds. You get on the river bed and you get some soil, pan and you get some gold or you get some soil and using traditional methods you smelt that and get some gold,” he noted. “So, it (gold) has been around in this country for many years, it’s just that it has not been formalised.”

Asked by the programme host, Grevazio Zulu, why there was slowness to formalise the mining of gold in Zambia, Chipata said; “it’s a combination of factors.”

“A lot of Zambians who have got exploration licences in these places have had challenges to start exploration. As you are aware, exploration means that you sink in money in the ground to find out how much material is on the ground. For lack of financing, a lot of areas in Zambia are not exploited,” Chipata explained. “So, a lot of Zambians out there, as you saw from the statement from the PS (mines permanent secretary Barnaby Mulenga), do have gold licences. But for lack of funding, they have not been able to explore, and also lack of equipment to be able to do exploration. This is why this move that we are taking to formalise this sector is targeted at making sure that we can start helping our people to explore and determine the quantity of gold and then determine how much you need in order to start up a mine.”

He said Kansanshi Mine in Solwezi was the only one, as at now, that formally reports gold in the country.

Chipata pointed out that the moment the ZCCM-IH was given the mandate on gold mining, “we studied the whole gold sub-sector in Zambia.”

“We went to 21 areas to see what is happening on the ground. We immediately got a gold trading licence to enable us to buy gold from anyone who has gold and recently you have seen us advertising that anyone with gold in Zambia, let them come to ZCCM-IH and sell their gold,” he said. “What has been currently happening there is that our people on the ground, the artisanal miners, anyone goes there and offers them prices that are below market. [But] our prices are linked to the London market – we are able to offer them a better price so that they can get better value for the work they are doing.”

Chipata added that as a first step, the ZCCM-IH had targeted Kasenseli area, insofar gold mining.

“We now have got an exploration licence in Kasenseli. As we speak, drilling works have started in order to ascertain how much gold is in Kasenseli. The second step is that we have already invested in processing. So, we are in a hurry to develop this sector so that the country can begin to earn the required value from this sector,” he noted.

Asked whether or not Zambia’s biggest gold deposit was at Kasenseli, Chipata said such could only be determined once the exploration programme was complete.

“The exploration programme will take about three months. It started already about three weeks ago. After three months we’ll be able to know how much deposit is in Kasenseli and we’ll be able to inform the public,” he said.

On whether he agreed or not that gold could enable the country to pay back its loans, Chipata said such was possible.

“I agree, to the extent that, for example, our target for this year is that if we can get 40 tonnes of gold in this country, that we’ll be almost $2 billion,” said Chipata. “So, it is possible [to pay back our loans from gold earnings]. But we have to start quickly and we need the support of everybody for us to realise that. The task is very huge but it can be done!”

Source: https://www.themastonline.com/2020/06/02/were-in-a-hurry-to-develop-the-gold-sector-chipata/

ZCCM Investments Holdings (ZCCM-IH) says the door remains open for anyone to approach ZCCM-IH for partnerships in the gold value chain.

Public relations manager Loisa Mbatha-Kakoma said in a statement that ZCCM-IH had prioritised investments in the mining sector particularly in other minerals such as gold and manganese.

Kakoma said as mandated by the government to harness the gold potential in the country, ZCCM-IH strategy was to forge partnerships with any industry player with in the gold value chain.

She said the partnership with Karma Mining Services and Rural Development was one such partnership where the joint venture (Consolidated Gold Company Zambia) is entirely focused on gold processing.

On the partnership between ZCCM-IH and Karma Mining Services and Rural Development (Karma), Kakoma said the company owned by Sudanese individuals came into Zambia in 2016 and registered the company in November 2018.

“Just like any foreign investor, they came in the country in search of investment opportunities in the gold mining sector. They first started with the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, and went through the Zambia Development Agency to apply for an investment licence. Their key interest was only in setting up gold processing lines in the gold value chain in which they possess vast experience and expertise from their country of origin – Sudan,” she explained.

“Karma first embarked on talking to existing local small scale gold mining licence holders in the country for partnerships in processing their gold ore, particularly in Eastern Province, before setting up the company in Zambia. With established potential partnerships with these local mining licence holders, they applied for a Mineral Processing Licence through the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development to enable them set-up gold processing plants.”

Kakoma said instead of them doing it entirely on their own, and engaging commercially with the local small scale licence holders, they were advised by the Ministries of Commerce, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Mines to partner with ZCCM-IH, which was now mandated to drive the gold national agenda, with gold being declared a strategic mineral.

“In fact, the granting of the Mineral Processing Licence to Karma was dependent on them partnering with ZCCM-IH. The two ministries should actually be applauded for their pro-activeness in seeing that any investor coming to invest in the gold sector now should partner with ZCCM-IH,” she said.

“We must also understand that the sole business of the joint venture between Karma and ZCCM-IH is only in gold processing. Karma does not own any gold exploration or mining licences, and will not own any of these, except for mineral processing licences.”

She said ZCCM-IH undertook its own due diligence on Karma who had already signed agreements with two existing local small scale gold mines to start processing gold.

She said seeing that Karma was bringing on board the machinery and vast technical expertise and know-how in good processing, ZCCM-IH entered into a partnership with Karma to form the Joint Venture – Consolidated Gold Company Zambia Ltd – and negotiated for a 45 per cent stake in the JV.

“In addition to this, it is enshrined in the agreement with Karma that ZCCM-IH will be able to increase its stake in CGCZ or own it entirely after five years. This period will ensure knowledge and skills transfer in running the operations of gold processing and ensure the business is established successfully,” she said.

“Further, not only does ZCCM-IH have this significant minority stake, ZCCM-IH has strategic management control in the company and is actively involved in the operations for direction. For instance, the chief financial officer and procurement officer are appointed by ZCCM-IH, and additionally a technical person, a metallurgist is attached to the JV.”

Kakoma said holding a significant minority or majority stake in new investments with investors coming to partner with ZCCM-IH, with some level of control and participation in strategic management positions, was part of new strategy aimed at ensuring ZCCM-IH gets value and ensures checks and balances in the running of these new entities.

She said the benefits of the partnership between Karma and ZCCM-IH in CGCZ was all about empowerment of the local small scale gold miners.

She said a lot of small scale licence holders have struggled to develop their mines due to lack of resources to conduct exploration to estimate the resources.

“Most of them have been mining alluvial gold which only involves sifting through gravel to separate the pieces of gold, and can be done by a single miner with a gold pan, by washing the ore in water. However, the process of hard rock gold mining and processing requires professional technical expertise for gold to be extracted; it is found in rocks which are supposed to be extracted from beneath the ground, crashed and milled into very fine particles, then chemically processed using leaching processes to extract the gold,” she said.

She said CGCZ was partnering with existing small scale licence holders to set-up gold processing lines for all types of gold ore materials and they were also being helped with technical expertise to open up gold veins by providing access to earth moving machinery as well.

Kakoma said all this would see a boost in their gold production.

“Again, knowledge and skills transfer in gold processing to these local licence holders will be another benefit. As such, any current licence holder is free to partner with any investor to mine and process the gold in their licence area. There are currently small scale licence holders who are already doing so with other foreign partners other than CGCZ or Karma or ZCCM-IH,” she said.

She said the industry traditionally had remained unformalised and a lot of illegal mining had been taking place since time immemorial.

“And there are sections of society, particularly foreigners, that have been massively benefiting from this illegality. There are no formal records of how much gold is siphoned and smuggled out of the country. There are over 60 spotted gold mining areas around the country, and the locals are currently mining. CGCZ is only present in Rufunsa and Mumbwa; and in Mwinilunga ZCCM Gold Company will entirely be responsible for mining and processing operations. CGCZ is not participating in the Kasenseli gold mine as alleged in social media commentary,” she said.

On the CGCZ and Array Metals Joint Venture, Kakoma said the partnership between CGCZ with Array Metals was another JV where Array Metals hold the exploration licence in Mumbwa and have invested millions of dollars in geological exploration to estimate the gold resources.

“Again, they could have started processing gold on their own with any investor, considering it is their licence. But they approached CGCZ for a JV in gold processing seeing what CGCZ is already doing with other small scale licence holders in Eastern Province. They saw it fit to have CGCZ come on board to invest in processing their ore materials and negotiated a revenue split of 65 per cent for CGCZ and 35 per cent as licence owners,” she said.

Kakoma said early this year, ZCCM-IH formed ZCCM Gold Company to oversee and undertake investments in the gold sector’s value chain.

“ZCCM Gold is owned 51 per cent by ZCCM-IH and 49 per cent by the Ministry of Finance, and was formed after CGCZ was established and already operational. ZCCM Gold will invest in the entire value chain starting from gold exploration, mining, processing, refining, trading and beneficiation. It will hold its own licences in mining in other gold occurrence areas,” she said.

She said the first project was the Kasenseli gold mine which will be a large scale mining and processing operation. ZCCM Gold is in charge of all the operations of the project.

Kakoma said a special purpose vehicle was being formed which is comprised of ZCCM Gold as majority shareholder, alongside the previous licence holders who are Zambians and the Chiefdom Trust as equity partners.

She said CGCZ or Karma were not party to the Kasenseli project.

Kakoma said the mandate given to ZCCM-IH to harness the gold sector was being implemented by ZCCM Gold.

“ZCCM Gold started buying gold mined by artisanal gold miners in February this year, by providing an open market and competitive pricing as the first step towards formalising the industry.
Gold mining activities have been taking place for years albeit illegally. And now there is a pro-active attempt to formalise the small scale and artisanal gold mining sector. So far, Government has given artisanal miners gold panning certificates to legalise their alluvial or riverbed gold mining activities,” she said.

“ZCCM Gold is working with these licenced artisanal gold miners by providing them with gold equipment, access to earth moving machinery, and offering technical expertise among others. Again, this is another avenue in which citizen participation in the gold sector is being encouraged and promoted.”

She said ZCCM Gold will set-up a gold refinery in future to start producing gold bullions.

“At Kansanshi Mine for example, gold is a by-product of a huge mining operation, and only produce an annual average of 5 tonnes of gold. ZCCM-IH is open to any local Zambians with this technical expertise in gold processing, to forge partnerships in developing the sector, or they can also apply and obtain licences or partner with existing small scale licence holders to develop the gold mines,” she said.

“As a country, we are still at a very early stage in formalising and establishing the industry, and this will require hard work and investment over time to attain high production levels. We will obviously need any technical expertise throughout the gold value chain considering the vastness of gold occurrence areas in the country.”

Source: https://www.themastonline.com/2020/05/29/door-remains-open-for-anyone-to-approach-zccm-ih-for-partnerships-in-gold-value-chain/

Lusaka, Zambia – ZCCM Investments Holdings (ZCCM-IH) has prioritised investments in the mining sector particularly in other minerals such as gold and manganese. As mandated by Government to harness the gold potential in the country, ZCCM-IH strategy is to forge partnerships with any industry player within the gold value chain. The partnership with Karma Mining Services and Rural Development is one such partnership were the joint venture (Consolidated Gold Company Zambia) is entirely focused on gold processing.

The following account provides clarity on various issues raised by stakeholders:

1. The partnership between ZCCM-IH and Karma Mining Services and Rural Development (Karma)
   Karma came into Zambia in 2016 and registered the company in November 2018. Just like any foreign investor they came in the country in search of investment opportunities in the gold mining sector. They first started with the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, and went through the Zambia Development Agency to apply for an investment licence. Their key interest was only in setting up gold processing lines in the gold value chain in which they possess vast experience and expertise from their country of origin – Sudan.
   Karma first embarked on talking to existing local small scale gold mining licence holders in the country for partnerships in processing their gold ore, particularly in Eastern Province, before setting up the company in Zambia. With established potential partnerships with these local mining licence holders, they applied for a Mineral Processing Licence through the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development to enable them set-up gold processing plants.
   Instead of them doing it entirely on their own, and engage commercially with these local small scale licence holders, they were advised by the Ministries of Commerce, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Mines to partner with ZCCM-IH, seeing that ZCCM-IH was now mandated to drive the gold national agenda, with gold being declared a strategic mineral. In fact, the granting of the Mineral Processing Licence to Karma was dependent on them partnering with ZCCM-IH.
   The two Ministries should actually be applauded for their pro-activeness in seeing that any investor coming to invest in the gold sector now, should partner with ZCCM-IH.
   We must also understand that the sole business of the JV between Karma and ZCCM-IH is ONLY in gold processing. Karma does not own any gold exploration or mining licences, and will not own any of these, except for Mineral Processing Licences.
2. Shareholding of 45% stake in Consolidated Gold Company of Zambia (CGCZ)
   ZCCM-IH undertook its own due diligence on Karma who had already signed agreements with two existing local small scale gold mines to start processing gold. Seeing that Karma was bringing on board the machinery and vast technical expertise and know-how in GOLD PROCESSING, ZCCM-IH entered into a partnership with Karma to form the Joint Venture – Consolidated Gold Company Zambia Ltd – and negotiated for a 45% stake in the JV. In addition to this, it is enshrined in the agreement with Karma that ZCCM-IH will be able to increase its stake in CGCZ or own it entirely after five years. This period will ensure knowledge and skills transfer in running the operations of gold processing and ensure the business is established successfully.
   Further, not only does ZCCM-IH have this significant minority stake, ZCCM-IH has strategic management control in the company and is actively involved in the operations for direction. For instance, the Chief Financial Officer and procurement officer are appointed by ZCCM-IH, and additionally a technical person, a metallurgist is attached to the JV.
   Holding a significant minority or majority stake in new investments with investors coming to partner with ZCCM-IH, with some level of control and participation in strategic management positions, is part of our new strategy aimed at ensuring ZCCM-IH gets value and ensures checks and balances in the running of these new entities.
3.  The benefits of the partnership between Karma and ZCCM-IH in CGCZ
   It is all about empowerment of the local small scale gold miners. A lot of small scale licence holders have struggled to develop their mines due to lack of resources to conduct exploration to estimate the resources. Most of them have been mining alluvial gold which only involves sifting through gravel to separate the pieces of gold, and can be done by a single miner with a gold pan, by washing the ore in water.
   However, the process of hard rock gold mining and processing requires professional technical expertise for gold to be extracted; it is found in rocks which are supposed to be extracted from beneath the ground, crashed and milled into very fine particles, then chemically processed using leaching processes to extract the gold.
   CGCZ is partnering with these existing small scale licence holders to set-up gold processing lines for all the types of gold ore materials; they are also being helped with technical expertise to open up gold veins by providing access to earth moving machinery as well. All this will see a boost in their gold production for their benefit, and that of the country at large, as we develop this sector to
   bring about formalisation and regularisation. Again, knowledge and skills transfer in gold processing to these local licence holders will be another benefit.
   As such, any current licence holder is free to partner with any investor to mine and process the gold in their licence area. There are currently small scale licence holders who are already doing so with other foreign partners other than CGCZ or Karma or ZCCM-IH.
   The industry traditionally has remained unformalised and a lot of illegal mining has been taking place since time in memorial. And there are sections of society particularly foreigners that have been massively benefiting from this illegality. There are no formal records of how much gold is siphoned and smuggled out of the country.
   There are over 60 spotted gold mining areas around the country, and the locals are currently mining. CGCZ is only present in Rufunsa and Mumbwa, and in Mwinilunga ZCCM Gold Company will entirely be responsible for mining and processing operations. CGCZ is not participating in the Kasenseli gold mine as alleged in social media commentary.
4. The CGCZ and Array Metals Joint Venture
   The partnership between CGCZ with Array Metals is another JV where they (Array Metals) hold the exploration licence in Mumbwa, and have invested millions of dollars in conducting geological exploration to estimate the gold resources. Again, they could have started processing gold on their own with any investor, considering it is their licence. But they approached CGCZ for a JV in gold processing seeing what CGCZ is already doing with other small scale licence holders in Eastern Province. They saw it fit to have CGCZ come on board to invest in processing their ore materials and negotiated a revenue split of 65% for CGCZ and 35% as licence owners.
   So any Zambian can still approach Array Metals to partner with them be it in mining or processing, seeing they have a large scale exploration licence in Mumbwa, and the JV with CGCZ is to process only a portion of the same over a period of time.
5. About ZCCM Gold Company
   Early this year, ZCCM-IH formed ZCCM Gold Company to oversee and undertake investments in the gold sector’s value chain.
   ZCCM Gold is owned 51% by ZCCM-IH and 49% by the Ministry of Finance, and was formed after CGCZ was established and already operational.
   ZCCM Gold will invest in the entire value chain starting from gold exploration, mining, processing, refining, trading and beneficiation. It will hold its own licences in mining in other gold occurrence areas. The first project is the Kasenseli gold mine which will be a large scale mining and processing operation. ZCCM Gold is in charge of all the operations of the project. A
   Special Purpose Vehicle is being formed which is comprised of ZCCM Gold as majority shareholder, alongside the previous licence holders who are Zambians and the Chiefdom Trust as equity partners.
   CGCZ or Karma are not party to the Kasenseli project.
6. The role of ZCCM Gold Company
   The mandate given to ZCCM-IH to harness the gold sector is being implemented by ZCCM Gold. ZCCM Gold started buying gold mined by artisanal gold miners in February this year, by providing an open market and competitive pricing as the first step towards formalising the industry.
   Gold mining activities have been taking place for years albeit illegally. And now there is a pro-active attempt to formalise the small scale and artisanal gold mining sector. So far, the Government has given artisanal miners gold panning certificates to legalise their alluvial or riverbed gold mining activities. ZCCM Gold is working with these licenced artisanal gold miners by providing them with gold equipment, access to earthmoving machinery, and offering technical expertise among others. Again, this is another avenue in which citizen participation in the gold sector is being encouraged and promoted.
   As ZCCM Gold build up gold stocks, and get a fair understanding of gold production in the country, ZCCM Gold will set-up a gold refinery in future so that we also start producing gold bullions, and also have a beneficiation line to make jewellery among others.
   So, there are vast business opportunities in the gold value chain, and any Zambian can participate. In addition, ZCCM Gold will partner with any local licence holder to conduct exploration and mining were potential viability is established.
7. Technical expertise in gold processing
   Indeed, alluvial gold can easily be obtained on the surface. But as the resource gets deeper it would require huge capital outlay to mine. At Kansanshi Mine, for example, gold is a by-product of a huge mining operation, and only produce an annual average of 5 tonnes of gold.
   ZCCM-IH is open to any local Zambians with this technical expertise in gold processing, to forge partnerships in developing the sector, or they can also apply and obtain licences or partner with existing small scale licence holders to develop the gold mines.
   As a country, we are still at a very early stage in formalising and establishing the industry, and this will require hard work and investment over time to attain high production levels. We will obviously need any technical expertise throughout the gold value chain considering the vastness of gold occurrence areas in the country.

ZCCM-IH remains committed to ensure that the benefits that will arise from the formalisation of the gold sector will empower the licence holders, the local communities
and derive value for its shareholders. The door remains open for anyone to approach ZCCM-IH for partnerships in the gold value chain.

Source: https://copperbeltkatangamining.com/zccm-ih-and-its-investment-strategy-in-the-gold-sector-in-zambia-a-statement-by-zccm-ih/