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(ZIMPAPERS) Bindura Nickel, Glencore sign pact

COMMENT - This is not good. The Zimbabwean government should immediately squash this deal. The CEO of Glencore is a convicted criminal, who has been caught stealing hundreds of million of US dollas from the Zambian taxpayer.

Bindura Nickel, Glencore sign pact
Monday, 07 February 2011 22:30 Business

BINDURA Nickel Corporation has signed an output off-take agreement with Glencore International AG, one of the biggest commodities traders in the world. The Bindura Nickel Corporation is majority owned by multi-commodity resources firm Mwana Africa plc.

According to Mwana Africa the agreement will cover all the nickel concentrate to be produced following the resumption of operations at the Trojan Mine. The company says regulatory approvals in Zimbabwe have been received for the agreement.

In terms of the agreement, BNC will sell all nickel concentrate produced at Trojan to Glencore until the Bindura smelter and refinery are back on stream. Glencore will pay BNC an LME-linked price on agreed terms for final contained nickel.

Mwana said once financing has been secured, BNC expects to restart mining at Trojan, initially at a rate of 10 000tpm ramping up to 70 000tpm over 12 months.

Once steady production is achieved, BNC expects to mine about 870 000 tonnes of ore per year.

“After processing, BNC expects to produce concentrate containing 7 000 tonnes nickel per year at steady state,” said Mwana.

An earlier review by Mwana in the second half of last year certified that the mine had 3,5 million tonnes of ore and demonstrated the potential to increase resources.
Mwana Africa chief executive Mr Kalaa Mpinga said the output off-take arrangement was a key step in the re-commencement of operations at BNC.

“The off-take agreement with Glencore is a very significant step toward the restart of operations at the Trojan Mine and, in due course, unlocking the unique potential of Bindura’s other nickel assets.

“We look forward to working with Glencore to deliver long-term shareholder value following their restart,” he said.

In September 2 600 ounces were produced, exceeding the Phase 1 production target rate of 30 000 ounces per annum.

In March last year, Mwana had said it was looking to restart some operations at its Bindura Nickels Trojan Mine in six to seven months.

However, the restart of Bindura, which is estimated at a value of US$26 million, has been constrained by a lack of working capital.

Loan finance of an estimated US$10 million, from the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa remains undrawn pending completion of final conditions to allow drawdown.

Trojan Nickel Mine is located at the BNC operations in Bindura in Mashonaland Central, 100km northeast of Harare.

Labels: GLENCORE INTERNATIONAL AG, NICKEL

posted by MrK @ 5:59 AM