(TALKZIMBABWE, BLOOMBERG) Gold companies restart mining in Zim
Gold companies restart mining in ZimBloomberg
Tue, 21 Apr 2009 23:03:00 +0000
GOLD producers are re-starting shut mines in Zimbabwe after new rules allowed them to sell gold directly on world markets, and keep the proceeds.
- On Feb. 2, Zimbabwe's central bank announced it would allow gold producers to sell their own bullion, after output slumped in 2008 by more than 50 percent.
- Gold contributes one-third to Zimbabwe's export earnings following the collapse of commercial agriculture after President Robert Mugabe's seizure of white-owned farms to resettle landless blacks.
- At its peak, the country produced 2,400 kg of gold per month. Last year production stood at a record low of 3,072 kg from 6,798 kg in 2007.
- About half of Zimbabwe's mining firms are foreign owned.
- Zimbabwe's largest gold miner Metallon Gold is negotiating a $10 million loan from local and foreign banks to restart operations at its closed mines next month.
- London-listed Mwana Africa Plc aims to reopen a Zimbabwe gold mine within six months and is also weighing restarting its Bindura nickel operations.
- Caledonia Mining Corp. plans to resume mining at the Blanket gold mine in Zimbabwe.
- Other than gold, Zimbabwe has the second largest platinum reserves in the world after South Africa, and Impala Platinum -- the mining firm with the biggest operations in Zimbabwe -- is expanding its output in Zimbabwe to 260,000 ounces of platinum by 2010 from around 160,000 oz. The company expects output of 1.7 million oz this year.
- In the long term, Implats would like to grow production to 1 million oz a year in Zimbabwe.
- Anglo Platinum, the world's biggest platinum producer, has said its Unki project in Zimbabwe will produce some 150,000 oz a year when fully operational. Angloplat expects to produce 2.4 million oz this year.
- Rio Tinto and Aquarius Platinum also own mines in Zimbabwe.
Labels: GOLD MINES, SANCTIONS, ZIMBABWE
posted by MrK @ 3:42 AM
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