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ZCCM-IH Press Release Kasenseli Gold Mine

ZCCM GOLD COMPANY INJECTS AN INITIAL K45 MILLION TO DEVELOP
KASENSELI GOLD MINE IN MWINILUNGA

27th April 2020, Lusaka, Zambia – ZCCM Gold Company has injected approximately K45 million for the initial phase of the Kasenseli Gold Mine Project in Mwinilunga.

With the granting of the exploration licence by the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development end of March 2020, ZCCM Gold moved on site and started mobilisation in the first week of April 2020 to undertake detailed exploration that will determine the extent of gold mineralisation in the licence area.

The extensive exploration works which includes geophysics, geochemistry and diamond drilling activities are aimed at delineating the hard-rock (underground) gold deposit in the licence area.

The mining and processing of the alluvial (surface) gold is pending approval of the Environmental Project Brief (EPB) by the Zambia Environmental Management Authority (ZEMA), and the granting of the mining licence by the Ministry of Mines.

The capital injection will also go towards the fencing of the licence area to avoid and prevent any intrusion from outsiders.

Over 40 locals will be employed in the fencing exercise scheduled to start this week. The fence is an additional security measure to the state security that is already on the ground and keeping vigil, patrolling the area to wade off any illegal activities.

Speaking during a courtesy call on Chief Chibwika early April, ZCCM-IH Chief Executive Officer Mr. Mabvuto Chipata indicated that it has taken a bit of time to start the operations at the mine due to a number of statutory and regulatory approvals that are required.

Mr. Chipata said that ZCCM-IH is a listed entity and cannot start any operations without obtaining the necessary and required approvals. He said ZCCM-IH  is required to  comply with best corporate Governance practices as required by the Lusaka Securities Exchange  listing rules, the Mines and  Minerals  Development Act, the Zambia Public Procurement Authority Act, and the Zambia Environmental Management Authority Act. 

Commenting on the coming on board by ZCCM-IH, Chief Chibwika expressed happiness that this will help address the challenges they have been facing in the area with regards to security and the need for development in the area and the district.

He appealed to ZCCM Gold that preference should be given to the local community in terms of jobs and local participation in the supply of various goods and services.

Chief Chibwika said that there is a lot of expectation from the local community with the coming of ZCCM Gold.  

ZCCM-IH through ZCCM Gold has been mandated to drive the national gold agenda, working in collaboration with the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development and other stake holders.

ZCCM Gold is undertaking and overseeing all gold related investments throughout the gold value chain in the country including exploration, mining, processing, refining, marketing, trading and beneficiation in Zambia.  

ZCCM Gold is owned 51% by ZCCM-IH and 49% by the Ministry of Finance.

-END-

Issued by:
Loisa Mbatha-Kakoma
Public Relations Manager
ZCCM Investments Holdings Plc

kakomal@zccmnew.wpenginepowered.com

Download the Press release Here: ZCCM-IH Press Release_Kasenseli Gold Mine
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Illegal Gold Dealers In Mwinilunga Warned.

With the ruling Party Provincial Chairman in North Western and the Provincial Police Chief being transferred to Lusaka headquarters over alleged gold dealings in Mwinilunga, North Western Province Minister Nathaniel Mubukwanu has directed Police to arrested all those engaged in the buying and selling of Gold in Kasenseli.

Mubukwanu who has visited the gold site said all activities have to be halted to ensure sanity in the management of the mineral resources. He said President Edgar Lungu has already issued a directive to arrest any persons found trading in gold.

Mubukwanu expressed disappointment and said the sale of gold by illegal dealers has to be stopped immediately.

Last week,President Edgar Lungu removed Hudson Namachila as North Western Province Police Commissioner for failure to provide security in illegal gold mining.
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Zambia Mining Firms seek government relief amid covid-19

The Zambia Chamber of Mines has urged the government to urgently engage with the sector and agree relief measures to address the issues facing mining companies in the midst of COVID-19.

The chamber said in a statement it had submitted a broad three-phase economic plan to the government, to urgently manage the economic impact arising from the coronavirus pandemic.

“Since then all mining industry stakeholders have been hoping that some significant stimulus measures would be instituted, as is being seen across the world,” it said.

This proposal included immediate relief measures that could be followed by an emergency support package whose financing could be sought from the IMF and World Bank, the chamber said.

“This was with a view to providing some guidance to government on the critical areas to be urgently addressed,” the statement said.

GreaseMax

The proposal also included the implementation of a “fight back” fiscal regime once the COVID-19 pandemic had abated and investment was needed to rebuild the economy, it said.

The IMF last week forecast Zambia’s economy will contract by 3.5% in 2020, from growth of 1.5% in 2019, as coronavirus hits economies across the world. Zambia’s economic activity has also been hampered by widespread power shortages.

Tax relief measures announced such as the suspension of import duties on concentrates and export duties on precious metals were a welcome first step but were yet to be introduced, it said.

The industry’s circumstances had become very desperate and the issues at Glencore’s Mopani Copper Mines were an example of this distress, the chamber said.

Glencore will reverse its earlier decision to shutter its Zambia subsidiary Mopani if it reaches an agreement with the Zambian government, the company said on Monday.

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CSR in a time of Corona – ZCCM IH steps up to be counted

Many corporates have answered the call for assistance from Zambia’s Ministry of Health during these difficult times of the COVID-19 Pandemic. On 2nd April 2020, ZCCM IH led by their CEO Mabvuto Chipata step up to the cause in a significant way by donating a Mercedes Benz ambulance to help in fight against the deadly virus.

ZCCM-IH joins Government in the fight against Covid-19 by donating a Mercedes Benz Ambulance. Source ZCCM IH Twitter @zccmihplc

At the moment, in all continents of the world, the health care infrastructures of various nations have been tested and stretched by the Pandemic. Although it’s been described as a black swan moment, the needs of the healthcare supply chains, which for many have reached breaking points, are in desperate need of apparatus (masks, hand sanitizer, ventilator, and mobility) to aid in this crisis.

Corporates have choices when it comes to making donations for causes such as this one. Some have opted to give sizable cheques to meet funding needs for this specific period of the crisis. However, others such as ZCCM IH have a CSR strategy that seeks to build on the infrastructure of the entities directly responsible for dealing with the crisis with a long term view in mind.

A review of ZCCM IH’s 2019 annual report reveals that through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes, the investment group continued meeting social obligations by supporting access to clean water to enhance sanitation and support health and education programmes among others. One such contribution was to support Ndola Teaching Hospital by sinking two commercial water boreholes and setting up a complete water reticulation system to support water to critical areas of the hospital including the operating theatres and wards which were known to have experienced severe water shortage (crisis) in the past.

Ministry of Health officials examining the apparatus

Therefore, the recent donation of an ambulance further exposes the DNA of ZCCM IH’s ongoing CSR strategy which focuses more on building supporting infrastructure that ensures long term sustainability.

But pundits far and wide will still ask the question “Why is it so important for corporates such as ZCCM IH and others in Zambia’s private sector to step up during this moment”. In strategic management literature, the debate over the social responsibilities of companies has been both contentious and confusing. On the one hand, which is a property conception views the company as a set of assets owned by the shareholders, whereas on the other hand, which is the social entity conception, views the company as the community of individuals that is sustained and supported by its relationships with its social, political, economic and natural environment. However, both opposing opinions must recognize that for an entity to survive and earn a profit it must maintain social legitimacy. Therefore, it is prudent for corporate entities such as ZCCM IH to purse CSR strategies that will inadvertently support their long term strategic goals.

With ZCCM IH now firmly redefining the gold mining ecosystem in Zambia by embracing artisan miners, ensuring their health at this moment in its development is crucial as having a healthy human capital base will secure long term success for both the corporation and the wider community.
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Mwinilunga Gold Explorers lose Licences

GOVERNMENT has revoked licences for PCB and Kampoko Mineral Resources, which were carrying out gold mining exploration in Kasenseli in Mwinilunga district. Gold deposits have been discovered in Kasenseli and the two companies have allegedly been engaging in illegal mining of the mineral. Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines-Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH) chief executive officer Mabvuto Chipata said the exploration licences for PCB and Kampoko Mineral Resources have been transferred to ZCCM-IH and will be operated by ZCCM-Gold Company, which has been mandated by Government to harness the gold sector in the country. Mr Chipata said when he paid a courtesy call on Mwinilunga District Commissioner Arnott Mapulanga on Wednesday that ZCCM-Gold Company will partner with the previous licence holders in exploiting the mineral in Kasenseli.

Mr Chipata said ZCCMGold Company will quickly secure the mine premises by putting up a fence to prevent illegal mining activities. “We need to enhance security in the area to ensure that we continue to preserve the resource before we can start to mine it properly,” he said. Mr Chipata also said the company will work closely with the local people to improve their livelihoods.

“We have a number of corporate social responsibility programmes we are going to implement, including those that will be recommended by our environmental teams, as well as those which require improving social amenities,” he said. Mr Chipata said ZCCMGold Company has been tasked to do explorations countrywide in areas where gold deposits have been discovered, conduct mining activities, as well as processing and marketing of the resource. “Our mandate is to organise this sector [gold sector] to ensure that we provide a transparent market, and also to be able to empower people with better tools to enable them to properly extract gold,” he said. Mr Chipata said ZCCMIH will ensure that as the company conducts mining activities in various parts of the country, it does not cause harm to the environment.

“With regards to Kasenseli, we have taken an inclusive approach where we are partnering with the previous licence holders instead of excluding them,” he said. Mr Chipata also said ZCCMGold Company is going to work with the Chibwika Chiefdom Development Trust, which will be allowed to participate in gold mining in Kasenseli. “That is the way we have structured our approach to ensure that the community is involved,” he said.
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Zambia’s ZCCM-IH to appeal against High Court judgment

Zambia’s ZCCM Investments Holdings (ZCCM-IH) Plc, has said it intends to appeal against the ruling of the Lusaka High Court delivered on March 23, 2020 regarding a matter the state-owened company commenced in 2016, against First Quantum Minerals Limited, FQM Finance Limited, Philip Pascall, Arthur Mathias Pascall, Clive Newall, Martin Rowley, and Kansanshi Mining Plc.

In a media statement, ZCCM-IH alleges that the defendants’ conduct on several occasions fraudulently engaged in transactions totaling in excess of $2bn for the benefit of the FQM Group, is detrimental to ZCCM-IH’s interests and those of the nation, and remained committed to protecting the said interests, adding that it will be appealing against the ruling.

In 2016, state-owned ZCCM-IH started the process of claiming up to $1.4bn from First Quantum Minerals Ltd after it accused the Canadian-based metals and mining company of engaging in fraud. The claim included $228m in interest on $2.3bn of loans that ZCCM-IH said First Quantum wrongly borrowed from the Kansanshi Copper Mine, as well as 20% of the principal amount or $570m, according to an internal company presentation, dated November 4, 2016.

ZCCM-IH is also seeking $26m as part of a tax liability the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) said Kansanshi owed it and the cost of the mine borrowing money commercially that ZCCM-IH said could have been avoided.

In papers filed in the Lusaka High Court on October 28, 2016, ZCCM-IH said First Quantum used the money as cheap financing for its other operations.

ZCCM-IH is listed on three stock exchanges namely Lusaka Securities Exchange (primary listing), London Stock Exchange and the Euronext Access (Paris – Marche Libre secondary listings).

The Zambian government holds directly 17.25% shares and its 60.28% shares is held through the Industrial development Corporation (IDC) of Zambia, with the remaining 22.47% held by institutional and private individual shareholders.

ZCCM-IH currently has an investment portfolio of 22 companies, including Kansanshi Mining Plc (20%), Mopani Copper Mines Plc (10%) and Konkola Copper Mines Plc (20.6%). Its shareholdings in these companies range from 10% to 100%, with commodities and services that are diversified in nature, including copper, gold, cobalt, coal and power, limestone, mining consultancy, financial services and gemstones.

Source: Business Tech Africa
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It’s final: only ZCCM-IH will manage Kansenseli

By SILUMESI MALUMO
WE shall not issue multiple mining rights for Kasenseli gold area in Mwinilunga district as the area will only managed by the ZCCM-IH, Mines Minister Richard Musukwa has said.
Mr Musukwa said that gold had been identified as a strategic reserve and it should be mined in a well-structured and transparent way.
He said in an interview yesterday that Government would not risk by issuing a number of licences because the country would not benefit from the mineral.
Last week, over 100 youths of Kasenseli area in Chief Chibwika’s area petitioned Government to consider empowering them with mining rights at the newly discovered gold mine.
The youths, who gathered at the District Commissioner’s office, requested Government to allow them undertake mining activities in one of the three pits known as veins at the site.
And in receiving the petition, Mwinilunga District Commissioner (DC) Arnot Mapulanga praised youths for expressing their discontent over the gold mining activities at Kasenseli.
Mr Mapulanga said government was cognisant of the fact that any mining firm engaged at Kasenseli must first empower the local citizens, especially youths.
But the Minister said Government would not issue mining rights to any individual while youths would only benefit through the third party arrangement.
“Gold is a strategic mineral which must benefit the entire country and not just a few individuals. So the youths will benefit through an organised structure, once the anchor company ZCCM-IH has now taken over.
“This is a Cabinet decision and it must be respected,” Mr Musukwa said.
He said countries like Botswana had deployed armed soldiers to guard the areas so that the resource was exploited for the good of everyone.
And ZCCM-IH has in-cooperated ZCCM Gold to manage gold mining at Kasenseli area.
ZCCM-IH chief executive officer, Mabvuto Chipata said his management team was in the province on an ambitious program to assess the situation on the ground at Kasenseli gold mine.
Mr Chipata explained that the tour was aimed at ensuring that the resource was harnessed so that exploration works could begin and quickly move into mining.
He said this when he paid a courtesy call on Provincial Minister, Nathaniel Mubukwanu in Solwezi yesterday.

Source: Daily Nation
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Konkola Copper Mines supports fight against Coronavirus

CHINGOLA, 31 March 2020: Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) has provided two clinics in Chingola and Chililabombwe, as holding centres for people who will be suspected to have Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the two districts, and one million two hundred thousand kwacha (K1.2 million) for medical equipment and supplies.

Acting Konkola Copper Mines General Manager Corporate Affairs Shapi Shachinda said the Nchanga South Clinic in Chingola will have a bed capacity of 28 with a possibility of putting up tents on the premises in order to increase capacity in the event of overwhelming numbers, while Clinic 5 in Chililabombwe will initially have at least 5 beds.

The two facilities will be handed to the Ministry of Health in the interim period as holding centres for future COVID-19 suspected cases and will be reverted to normal medical use as Out-patient facilities for KCM once the war against COVID-19 is won.

Mr Shachinda commented: ‘KCM is opening up the two clinics for purposes of holding people who will in the future be suspected to have the Coronavirus, while awaiting their transfer to the main Government isolation centre on the Copperbelt in Masaiti district. The company will also release K1.2 million for procurement of medical equipment and supplies.’

KCM will procure equipment such as ventilators, oxygen concentrators, data scopes, autoclaving machine, incinerator, hand-washing facilities for use during the fight against COVID-19, he said.

Konkola Copper Mines is supporting efforts by the new District Commissioner for Chingola, the Government’s and KCM medical teams to prepare for the management of any reported and confirmed cases of Coronavirus.

‘We have a huge responsibility as a corporate citizen to support the Government’s broader plans to protect people from contracting Coronavirus and to fight the virus in the event that some people would have contracted it in the future,’ Mr Shachinda said.

Konkola Copper Mines has put in place communication protocols to educate and enlighten more than 12,000 permanent employees and those working for its business partners on the prevention of COVID-19, including providing sanitizers in operational areas. The company has printed posters and banners in English and local languages with key messaging, and some of the initiatives will be rolled out to communities in the company’s areas of operation.

Source: Market Screener
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Mining firms in Zambia welcome tax relief measures

LUSAKA, March 31 (Xinhua) — Mining firms in Zambia on Tuesday welcomed the government’s decision to suspend export duty on precious metals and import duty on mineral concentrates in order to cushion the mining sector.

Last Friday, Finance Minister Bwalya Ng’andu announced that the government will suspend export duty on precious metals and import duty on mineral concentrates to cushion the mining sector.

The Zambia Chamber of Mines, an association of mining firms, said the move was the first step in the direction that must necessarily lead to a broader relief package similar to that being deployed by other countries in the face of the coronavirus.

“The value of this announcement is greatly geared towards making better use of latent tertiary ore smelting and refining capacity while the bulk of the industry’s core primary mining and metallurgical processing continues to need cashflow relief to make it through this fight for survival,” Sokwani Chilembo, the chief executive officer of the association said.

He said the response was a crucial recognition on the part of government that it must change tack from its prior focus on raising taxes at all costs.

Zambia, Africa’s second largest copper producer, introduced the taxes which came into effect in January 2020. Mining firms rejected the taxes saying they will kill the industry.

Analysts have since welcomed the government’s decision saying it will bring relief to the mining sector.

Source: Xinhua
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Effects of COVID-19 Disease on the Zambian Mining Industry

ZCCM Investments Holdings Plc (ZCCM-IH) has said that the company intends to appeal against the Ruling of the Lusaka High Court delivered on 23 March 2020 regarding a matter the firm commenced in 2016, against First Quantum Minerals Limited (FQM Ltd), FQM Finance Limited, Philip Pascall, Arthur Mathias Pascall, Clive Newall, Martin Rowley, and Kansanshi Mining Plc.

In a statement released to the media, ZCCM-IH said that the defendants’ conduct, allegedly, among others, that the defendants on several occasions fraudulently engaged in transactions totaling in excess of $2 billion for the benefit of the FQM Group, is detrimental to ZCCM-IH’s interests and those of the nation, and remained committed to protecting the said interests, adding that it will be appealing against the Ruling.

In 2016, ZCCM-IH started the process of claiming up to $1.4 billion from First Quantum Minerals Ltd accusing the firm of engaging in fraud. The claim included $228 million in interest on $2.3 billion of loans that ZCCM-IH said First Quantum wrongly borrowed from the Kansanshi copper mine, as well as 20 percent of the principal amount, or $570 million, according to an internal company presentation, dated Nov. 4, 2016.

ZCCM-IH is also seeking $260 million as part of a tax liability the Zambia Revenue Authority said Kansanshi owed it, as well as the cost of the mine borrowing money commercially that ZCCM-IH said could have been avoided.

In papers filed in the Lusaka High Court on Oct. 28 2016, ZCCM-IH said that First Quantum used the money as cheap financing for its other operations.

ZCCM-IH is triple listed on 3 stock exchanges: the Lusaka Securities Exchange (Primary listing) and on the London Stock Exchange and the Euronext Access (Paris – Marche Libre) (Secondary Listings).

Government holds directly 17.25% shares and its 60.28% shares is held through the Industrial development Corporation (IDC) in Zambia, with the remaining 22.47% held by institutional and private individual shareholders.

ZCCM-IH currently has an investment portfolio of 22 companies, including Kansanshi Mining Plc (20%), Mopani Copper Mines Plc (10%) and Konkola Copper Mines Plc (20.6). Its shareholdings in these companies range from 10% to 100%, with commodities and services that are diversified in nature, including copper, gold, cobalt, coal and power, limestone, mining consultancy, financial services and gemstones.

Source: Lusaka Times