COMMENT - Andrew Cranswick is still wanted in Australia for tax evasion.
ACR reports progress at gold projects
18/12/2011 00:00:00
by Business Reporter
AIM-LISTEDD resource and development company, African Consolidated Resources expects to start first-phase production at its Pickstone gold project, in Zimbabwe, in mid-2012.
The Zimbabwe-focused company said the project, although subject to funding, is successfully on route in its development to generate cash through its Pickstone sulphide tailings dump project.
Cash generation could fund subsequent investment in production phases at Pickstone, while affording the company a more aggressive drillout of other assets, said CEO Andrew Cranswick in a recent statement.
Throughout the project ramp-up and production, the company had remained committed to full compliance with Zimbabwe's indigenisation regulations.
African Consolidated was confident that it would raise funding and would announce its progress within the next quarter, he said.
Meanwhile, the miner reported that 10 700 m of drilling, to upgrade current Joint Ore Reserves Committee- (Jorc-) compliant resource of one-million troy ounces, had been undertaken at its Gazema gold project.
These results were expected to be released in the first quarter of 2012.
Executive chairperson Roy Tucker said African Consolidated believed the total project resource was likely to be higher and the Gadzema gold project could develop into a major mine.
“However, the ongoing resource definition would run in parallel with research on the funding of such a large-scale operation, given the internationally perceived political risk to finance opportunities in Zimbabwe,” he added.
More than 35 000 m had been drilled in Gadzema and, while awaiting assays from the latest campaign, the company was planning the next resource drill out.
It is hoped that the bulk of the future funding would be sourced from the near-term production at Pickstone.
African Consolidated reported a loss of $1.7-million in the six months to September 30, 2011.
Labels: AFRICAN CONSOLIDATED RESOURCES PLC, ANDREW CRANSWICK, CORRUPTION
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COMMENT - This is huge news. Anglo-American De Beers is the world's diamond monopolist. Zimbabwe sits on 20% of the world's known diamond reserves. Now you know why Zimbabwe has been singled out and vilified for the last decade. There is only one protection, and that is that all natural resources permanently belong to the people, and are mined through the state only. And AADB should make a start by restoring everything they have stolen from the country of Zimbabwe, as well as South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, etc.
‘De Beers an international looter’
Saturday, 08 October 2011 22:38
Sunday Mail Reporters
THE Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has reiterated its calls to take legal action against South African mining giant De Beers, describing the company as an international looter.This comes amid revelations by Government that
De Beers smuggled more than 1 000 tonnes of diamond concentrate out of the country in its 15 years of existence in Zimbabwe.
Mines and Mining Development Minister Obert Mpofu made the startling revelations at the Mining Stakeholders’ Conference held in Mutare last Monday. Minister Mpofu also accused De Beers, which is a major sponsor of civil society groupings such as the Centre for Research and Development and the Zimbabwe Environment Lawyers’ Association (Zela), for campaigning against Zimbabwe’s right to sell its diamonds.
He said De Beers was not displaying transparency and good governance, the same values the company’s gullible civil society campaigners were accusing the Government of violating.
“De Beers is an international looter.
“They do not know what transparency is, what good governance is. They exported not hundreds of tonnes of diamonds but thousands of tonnes. We are going to take legal action and we are going to use Zela to deal with them,” said Minister Mpofu amid applause from stakeholders.
Minister Mpofu also questioned why Zimbabwe’s critics were not demanding to know where the diamonds that were illegally mined by the 50 000-plus people at the famous Chiadzwa went to.
“Where are the diamonds that were collected by the 50 000 people in Marange?
“This was a result of a purposeful agenda by De Beers,” contested Minister Mpofu.
He said De Beers must come clean on its activities in Zimbabwe.
“They were there for 15 years taking the diamonds everyday and we have the records to that effect and our civil society has never said anything about it.
“They did not say they had found diamonds in Zimbabwe but when Government started to ask questions they abandoned.
“Their withdrawal was so sudden and a few hours later they left African Consolidated Resources (ACR) to take over. ACR, a British-listed company without any mining operations but listed for not doing anything, save for making claims that they have mining rights in Marange.
“ACR realised that they would not get enough because Government was on their heels, they brought in 50 000 people into the diamond mining fields. All of you saw that.
“And all those diamonds are not accounted for. Is that transparency?” Minister Mpofu said, before adding that the gems were not in the hands of the Zimbabwean Government.
He added: “They are not with Government. In fact, when Government was running around with the help of the Minerals Unit, one of the ACR directors was nabbed in possession of 27kg of diamonds at one of his houses. These are facts that are being ignored.
“What happened to the diamonds that were being used by Savimbi to fight the (Angolan) government?
“Who was paid in those diamonds, where are those diamonds? Where are the diamonds that were actually fanning the war in Sierra Leone, in Cote d’Ivoire, in DRC, where are they?
“Transparency. You guys (civil society) should know where they are if you guys preach transparency as you claim. Where are those diamonds? They are not in Africa, nor are they in Zimbabwe.”
He added: “To the NGOs, we say we are not scared of any scrutiny as Government. Actually, that makes us work better.
“You keep on referring to Botswana as the best model, but are the people of Botswana getting full beneficiation from their diamonds?
“For your own information, the Tswana people have no idea of what transpires at the De Beers diamond mine.”
He defended the presence of security forces at the Chiadzwa diamond fields.
“Our security forces did a wonderful job because nowhere in the world could that magnitude of people be easily cleared in a diamond area.
“Our army and our police did a splendid job and they are being vilified for doing that.
“During the time of this (diamond) rush and looting, we were compliant as a country and allowed to sell our diamonds.
“Immediately, we brought in new investors, cleaned up the place, put a security fence, we were barred from selling our diamonds because the De Beers looters realised they were now out of business at Marange.”
Official documents show that the company exported more than 1 000 tonnes of diamonds under the pretext that it was still carrying out exploration.
It was granted 47 Exclusive Prospecting Orders (EPOs) in Chipinge, the first of which was gazetted in March 1996. Of these EPOs, 13 were in Chipinge District and the remainder in Chimanimani.
The first tenure of exploration was under EPO 1059 in Marange and 1062 in Mutowona, covering more than 61 000 hectares.
Four kimberlites were discovered under EPO 1059 and one kimberlite under EPO 1062.
However, the validity of the EPO lapsed in 2001 before De Beers completed its search.
A new application to renew the EPO was lodged with the Mining Affairs Board and was granted in March 2002. The company later discovered cemented diamonds, but did not report this discovery to the Ministry of Mines.
It subsequently abandoned operations. It emerged that in 1996, De Beers exported 32 tonnes of rock samples, 608 tonnes of drill core and 64 tonnes of soil samples. In 1997, it collected 16 tonnes of soil sample and 53 tonnes of rock samples.
Eighty-eight tonnes of crushed rock were collected and exported in 1998, while 228 tonnes of the same were exported in 1999.
In 2000, the company exported 38 tonnes of crushed rock. In 2003, 150kg of exploration samples were exported while rock samples amounting to 761kg and 100kg concentrate were exported in 2004.
In 2005, 262kg of concentrate (64kg of which were exported in trunks and 111 895kg in drums) as well as 1 318kg of rock samples. - The Sunday Mail
Labels: AFRICAN CONSOLIDATED RESOURCES PLC, ANDREW CRANSWICK, ANGLO-AMERICAN, CORRUPTION, NEOCOLONIALISM, OBERT MPOFU
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COMMENT - Here we go. I wonder whether the mine industry apologists are going to turn up and complain about Anglo-American De Beers and it's violation of the 'Rule Of Law'. Or perhaps they think the rule of law only applies to Africans? De Beers should lose it's license to operate in Zimbabwe, let alone other African countries. It is obscene that trillionaires are gleaning every cent of profit they can from Africa, while the people starve and live on $1,- per day. Also, if they can't be trusted to declare their revenues, they can't be trusted to declare their taxable income. I say nationalize their assets.
Probe into De Beers operations in Chiadzwa
07/07/2011 00:00:00
by Sapa
THE Zimbabwean government is investigating the operations of diamond company De Beers in Chiadzwa some years back amid fears
the company could have looted gems worth hundreds of millions of dollars. De Beers spent
eight years exploring diamonds at the fields, but later
claimed that it failed to get anything meaningful.These are the same fields that Mbada, Marange Resources and Anjin Investment are operating on viably today and extracting millions of carats, the report said.
Mines and Mining Development Deputy Minister Gift Chimanikire on Wednesday confirmed a probe was already underway.
“We have requested a full report on De Beers and their operations from our officers,” Chimanikire said.
The allegations against De Beers were first made by President Robert Mugabe in March last year.
His spokesman George Charamba said at the time: "For 15 years, the Zimbabwe government believed De Beers was only prospecting and carrying out tests when the company was actually mining.
"When the government finally realised this and tried to arrest them, that's when they hurriedly pulled out and claimed the diamonds were not of commercial value."
At the time, Charamba had indicated the government could not "take the issue further" because it could not establish "how much of the diamonds have been taken".
"The most important thing now is that we now have our mines back."
De Beers' director of international relations has denied any wrong doing by the mining giant.
"We were in the Marange fields from 1993 to 2006," Andrew Bone said from London. "We only did core sampling. The deposits we found there did not fit into our portfolio. There were also disputes regarding the allocation of a second concession to another mining company, ACR. That's why we pulled out.
"The bottom line is that there are ridiculous allegations and there is no evidence of De Beers mining diamonds in that area."
But on that last point, Charamba shot back: "It is not a secret that alluvial diamonds are mined at the surface. It is not like a kimberlite. Why should it take 15 years for such an experienced company to conclude that our diamonds are of no value to them?"
Labels: AFRICAN CONSOLIDATED RESOURCES PLC, ANDREW CRANSWICK, ANGLO-AMERICAN, CHIADZWA, GEORGE CHARAMBA, ROBERT MUGABE
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Ex-diamond firm’s director Kurotwi on the run
By Peter Matambanadzo
Sunday, 09 January 2011 20:33
POLICE have launched a manhunt for former Canadile Mi-ners (Pvt) Ltd executive director Lovemore Kurotwi who is facing fraud allegations after he demanded back US$300 000 in legal fees paid to Mutamangira and Associates law firm.
Canadile Miners had — together with other companies Marange Resources, Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation and the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe — paid the law firm fees for legal services rendered to them.
The companies were involved in a legal dispute with Afri-ca Consolidated Resource for over a year. ACR was trying to boot the companies out of the Chiadzwa diamond fields.
The manhunt for Kurotwi came after ZMDC chairman Mr Godwills Masimirembwa and former chairman of Cana-dile Miners (Pvt) Ltd Mr Cougan Matanhire filed a criminal complaint against him on Saturday at Harare Central Police Station under IR number 010560.
Deputy police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Oliver Mandipaka confirmed that a report was received at Harare Central Police Station.
“We confirm that we received a report although I don’t have any further details,” Chief Supt Mandipaka said. Sources say police visited Kurotwi’s house and he was not located.
“We confirm that his house was raided last night (Saturday) and he was not there.
“His lawyers’ offices were also visited in search of him but we could not locate him,” said the source who dec-lined.
However, his lawyer Mr George Chikumbirike said his client was not on the run.
“He (Kurotwi) phoned me this morning (yesterday) and informed me that police were looking for him. He is not on the run. He is out of town and I also tried to communicate with the police but failed because I’m at the farm where there is no network,” Mr Chikumbirike said.
He said as soon as his client was back in town, he would accompany him to the police.
Mr Masimirembwa also confirmed that they had jointly filed a criminal complaint against Kurotwi.
“I can confirm to you that we jointly filed a criminal complaint of attempted fraud against Kurotwi following his demands through his lawyers Chikumbirike and Associates.
“The police have been looking for him and we understand he is on the run,” Mr Masimirembwa said.
Kurotwi’s lawyers Chikumbirike and Associates wrote a letter to Mr Masimirembwa on Saturday in which the latter was demanding US$300 000 purportedly on behalf of Core Mining and Minerals (Pvt) Ltd and to Canadile Miners (Pvt) Ltd.
In the letter, Mr Chikumbirike claimed that Canadile Miners never authorised payment of the legal fees to Mutamangira and Associates law firm that acted for ZMDC, Mineral Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe, Canadile Miners and Mbada Diamonds.
He further stated that the mining company, which is now allegedly defunct, had no legal obligation to pay the legal fees.
Canadile Miners had its mining licence cancelled after it emerged that it had misrepresented to Government that it had capacity to do mining in Chiadzwa.
But Mr Masimirembwa said work done by Mutamangira and Associates benefited ZMDC, MMCZ, Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners.
He said Mutamangira and Associates were the leading negotiators in the resolution of the Kimberly Process issues both in Zimbabwe and abroad.
“For without the able representation of Messrs Mutamangira and Associates for a period of not less than 12 months we would not have been able to secure the Kimberly Process certification and sell our diamonds as we have done and continue to do,” he said.
Mr Masimirembwa said there was nothing sinister in the payment of fees to a lawyer as other service providers who conducted a forensic audit of the Marange Diamond Reconciliation were paid US$600 000.
He added that if anyone had to be arrested it should be Kurotwi because he wanted to pocket US$300 000.
“If Government pays US$300 000 where will he put the money? Canadile Miners no longer exist and Core Mining is as good as defunct with the majority of directors on the run,” Mr Masimirembwa said.
Mr Matanhire also confirmed reporting Kurotwi to police adding that payment of US$300 000 to Mutamangira and Associates, a firm that was acting on behalf of the Attorney General’s Office, was above board.
“The legal fees I understand related to a myriad of legal challenges instituted by ACR and the Kimberly Process engagement since Marange Resources were under the KP ban,” Mr Matanhire said.
He said Mines and Mining Development Minister Obert Mpofu indicated that Marange, MMCZ and ZMDC foot the lawyers’ bill since it was a joint venture, which was operating through Canadile Miners and Mbada Diamonds.
He said during one of the meetings it was resolved that the three entities bear the costs in one-third portion each.
Further, Mr Matanhire said a meeting was held where Kurotwi and another executive, Yehuda Lictchi, approved the payment of the legal fees at the Canadile Miners Mount Hampden offices.
“Further to my telephonic discussions regarding the payment of the outstanding legal fees of US$300 000 payable to Mutamangira and Associates, please effect the payment from the Canadile Miners working capital retention. As you are aware they acted on instruction from the AG’s office, and hence we are liable for our portion.
Every other party has already paid. I have advised the lawyer to get in touch with you regarding the payment. If you could effect it immediately because it has been outstanding for some time now,” read an email sent to Kurotwi.
Mr Matanhire said the payment was then made on September 16, 2010 with the full knowledge and approval of Kurotwi.
“In the circumstances, Kurotwi and his attorneys are committing a fraud by making an unlawful demand for the payment of US$300 000 to themselves,” Mr Matanhire said.
He also said apart from it being fraudulent, the claim was malicious, given the fall out between Core Mining Minerals and Government.
Kurotwi is on bail facing charges that arose after he and five others allegedly misrepresented to Government that they had capacity to mine diamonds at Chiadzwa fields.
It is alleged that as a result of this misrepresentation Government was prejudiced more than US$10 million.
Labels: AFRICAN CONSOLIDATED RESOURCES PLC, ANDREW CRANSWICK, CANADILE MINERS, LOVEMORE KUROTWI
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COMMENT - Andrew Cranswick used dummy corporations to acquire more than his legal number of diamond claims. He also evaded taxes in (at least) Australia.
See here.
Govt cancels ACR mining claims
by Business Reporter
20/12/2010 00:00:00
ZIMBABWE will cancel all mineral claims held by Maidstone, England-based African Consolidated Resources Plc, said Obert Mpofu, the country's mines minister. The licenses "will be revoked because there were irregularities when they were issued," Mpofu said. "
All of them were acquired fraudulently."
He said the cancellation isn't related to President Robert Mugabe's warning last week that U.K. companies may face sanctions.
Mugabe said on Dec. 17 that it's "time to read the riot act" to the U.K. and other Western countries which have imposed sanctions against the president and some other members of his ruling party.
ACR has been involved in a dispute with the government over its rights to the Marange diamond field.
The company has been active in Zimbabwe since 2004 and has interests in gold, nickel, platinum and other commodities, according to its website.
Andrew Cranswick, chief executive officer of ACR, said the company has done nothing wrong.
"None of our claims, including those in Marange, were improperly acquired," he said. "We will do everything we can to protect our rights."
Cranswick is also at the centre of controversy after he was cited as the source of claims senior Zanu PF and government officials were involved in diamond claims in the country.
The ACR chief Executive was claimed to have been the source of the allegations in cables of US embassy communications released by the whistle-blower website, WikiLeaks.
Cranswick denies the allegations.
He has since been sued for US$10 million by the country’s secret intelligence boss, Happyton Bonyongwa over the allegations.
Labels: AFRICAN CONSOLIDATED RESOURCES PLC, ANDREW CRANSWICK, CORRUPTION, TAX EVASION
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Of course Andrew Cranswick has now himself been shown to be extremely corrupt, getting more than the legal appropriation of diamond fields and evading taxes in Australia. See
Cranswick's minerals smuggling racket exposed and
ACR's Cranswick declared bankrupt in Australia, no perm domE.O. 12958: DECL: 11/12/2018
TAGS: PGOV EMIN ASEC PHUM ZI
SUBJECT: REGIME ELITES LOOTING DEADLY DIAMOND FIELD
REF: 2007 HARARE 319
Classified By: Ambassador James D. McGee for reason 1.4 (d)
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SUMMARY
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¶1. (C) The
CEO of a British mining company described to us how high-ranking Zimbabwean government officials and well-connected elites are generating millions of dollars in personal income by hiring teams of diggers to hand-extract diamonds from the Chiadzwa mine in eastern Zimbabwe. They are selling the undocumented diamonds to a mix of foreign buyers including Belgians, Israelis, Lebanese, Russians and South Africans who smuggle them out of the country for cutting and resale elsewhere. Despite efforts to control the diamond site with police, the prospect of accessible diamonds lying just beneath the soil's surface has attracted a swarm of several thousand local and foreign diggers. The police response has been violent, with a handful of homicides reported each week, though that number could grow as diggers arm themselves and attract police and army deserters to their ranks. END SUMMARY
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High-Ranking Officials Trading Diamonds
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¶2. (C) On November 6, poloff met with Andrew Cranswick, the CEO of African Consolidated Resources (ACR), the publicly-traded British firm that had its Chiadzwa diamond claim in the Marange district of Manicaland seized by the government parastatal Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) in 2006 (reftel). According to Cranswick, there is a small group of high-ranking Zimbabwean officials who have been extracting tremendous diamond profits from Chiadzwa. Cranswick said that RBZ Governor Gideon Gono, Grace Mugabe, wife of President Robert Mugabe, Vice President Joyce Mujuru, Mines and Mining Development Minister Amos Midzi, General Constantine Chiwenga and wife Jocelyn, CIO Director Happyton Bonyongwe, Manicaland Governor Chris Mushowe, and several white Zimbabweans, including Ken Sharpe, Greg Scott, and Hendrik O,Neill, are all involved in the Marange diamond trade.
¶3. (C) On October 14, econ specialist traveled to the periphery of the no-go area around the Chiadzwa diamond site located about 60 km southwest of Mutare in Manicaland. Repeated inquiries about who was involved in the diamond trade elicited many of the same names mentioned by Cranswick.
¶4. (C) Econ specialist also met with Manatsawani Mutasa, a ZANU-PF Central Committee member and Manicaland resident, who added that Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, Women's Affairs Minister Oppah Muchinguri, and Sabina Mugabe--sister of President Mugabe--have also been profiting from the purchase and sale of Chiadzwa diamonds.
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How the Chiadzwa Diamond Trade Works
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¶5. (C) The GOZ possesses the diamond mining rights to Chiadzwa, but the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) does not do any extraction itself. The ZMDC brought in some mining equipment in 2006 after seizing the mining rights from ACR, but their efforts were minimal and soon halted altogether. According to Cranswick, all extraction is now being done by hand panners who merely sift the top meter of soil. Some of these panners operate in teams that sell
HARARE 00001016 002 OF 005
their diamonds to representatives of the above-named officials and connected elites. Other panners are individual operators who merely sell to the highest bidder. Often the panners who are affiliated with a particular regime buyer, will only sell a portion of their diamonds to that person's representative, holding back the remainder to sell for higher prices to foreign buyers offering hard currency.
¶6. (C) The diamonds that are sold to regime members and elites are sold for freshly printed Zimbabwean notes issued by the RBZ. These diamonds are aggregated and resold to foreign buyers for US dollars or rand in nearby Mutare, in Harare, over the border in the Mozambican towns of Manica and Chimoio, or even in South Africa. (NOTE: Econ specialist reported that Mutare was awash with diamond money. The Holiday Inn was booked with guests checking in for weeks at a time. Food prices in shops near Marange were exorbitant, with meat prices four times higher than in Harare. END NOTE.)
¶7. (C) The diamonds that are not sold to regime members and elites, but instead are sold directly to foreign buyers, actually constitute the majority of the diamond trade in Chiadzwa. Cranswick said that around 85 percent of the diamonds extracted from Chiadzwa are sold directly to foreign buyers. Even so, he conservatively estimated that Mujuru, Gono and the rest were probably each making several hundred thousand dollars a month.
¶8. (C) Whether bought first by regime members or not, eventually the diamonds are sold to a mix of Belgians, Israelis, Lebanese (the largest contingent), Russians, and
South Africans. A well-known buyer named Gonyeti fronts for Gono, as do two other buyers named Tendai Makurumidze and Takunda Nyaguze, according to Mutasa. Once sold to foreigners, the majority of the diamonds are smuggled to Dubai and sold at the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority, a dedicated economic free-trade zone created in 2002 for the exchange of metals and commodities, most notably gold and diamonds. Although Zimbabwe is a participant in the Kimberley process, the diamonds from Chiadzwa are undocumented and therefore are not in compliance with Kimberley, which requires loose uncut diamonds to be certified.
¶9. (C) The highest quality diamonds are not sent to Dubai,
but are shipped to Belgium, Israel, or South Africa for
cutting. Despite this wide dispersal, Chiadzwa diamonds are
very distinctive because of their age, color, and clarity and
can easily be traced back to the Marange mine, according to
Cranswick. He implicated Ernie Blom, president of South
Africa's Diamond Merchants Association in the illicit trade
of Chiadzwa diamonds, and said that Blom had been known to
boast of his involvement in illegal Zimbabwean diamonds.
When asked why purportedly reputable diamond dealers would
involve themselves in Chiadzwa, Cranswick said that the site
was "massive" with tremendous profit potential that was
attracting numerous buyers. One such group consisted of
Russians who had recently bought US$500,000 worth of diamonds
at an MMCZ auction, paying US$29/carat. They bought eight to
ten carat rough diamonds, five to ten percent of which were
gem quality.
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Diamond Trade a Violent Business
--------------------------------
¶10. (C) The diamond frenzy in Chiadzwa has led to hundreds
and possibly thousands of homicides. Word of easy diamonds
spurred a rush of Zimbabwean and foreign diggers to the area
including Angolans, Congolese, Mozambicans, South Africans
and Zambians, as well as diggers from as far away as Sierra
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Leone and Cote D'Ivoire Cranswick estimated there are
currently around three or four thousand diggers swarming over
the 70 hectare Chiadzwa site. The police have unsuccessfully
tried to prevent the site from becoming overrun, and
routinely use live fire to chase away diggers. Anyone trying
to enter the area has to present a Zimbabwean national
identification card with a registration number that ends in
"75", signifying the person is a resident of the Mutare
region of Manicaland.
¶11. (C) During the first weekend of November, police killed
at least five panners in Chiadzwa, according to the on-line
newspaper Zimbabwe Times. While usually operating on foot
with attack dogs, this time the police used a helicopter to
shoot at panners. Passmore Nyakureba, a lawyer with the
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said, "This has become an
everyday scenario. Up to five people die every week as a
result of being shot at by police or after being bitten by
dogs." Cranswick said that at the peak of the frenzy in
2007, up to a hundred panners were shot in a week.
¶12. (C) In response to aggressive police action, diggers
began arming themselves with handguns and in some cases
automatic weapons. They also formed loose gangs in an
attempt to protect themselves as well as "claimed" areas.
Cranswick said that some members of the police and army have
deserted in order to join the digging, and they typically
brought their firearms with them. Some former police even
still wear their uniforms as they search for diamonds.
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Police Corrupted; Community Destroyed
-------------------------------------
¶13. (C) Cranswick said that the police were rotated into the
area on two-week shifts to control the mining and keep
unauthorized diggers out, but they were immediately
corrupted. Police officers routinely charged 100 rand or
US$10 a person for a day's digging in Chiadzwa. The military
has largely avoided the area out of fear that commanding
officers would lose control of their troops, according to
Cranswick.
¶14. (C) Cranswick maintained that local chiefs were on ACR's
side in its pending court battle to win back its claim. They
realized that the "curse" of diamonds had wreaked havoc in
the community. Children were no longer attending school, the
environmental degradation was severe, lawlessness and
violence reigned, and the community was not benefiting from
the resource. According to an independent weekly newspaper,
three quarters of the schools in Marange, Buhera, and
Chimanimani districts failed to open this term because
teachers and students alike were digging for diamonds.
----------------
What's At Stake?
----------------
¶15. (C) Chiadzwa has the potential of being a major source
of industrial and gem quality diamonds. What makes it so
commercially valuable is that it possesses a diverse mix of
different size and color stones, all within just a few meters
of the surface. It also has a high carat per hundred tons
(CPHT) ratio, a measure the industry uses to characterize the
diamond concentration. Cranswick told us he was
confidentially shown a report prepared for the De Beers
Corporation by noted geologist John Ward. The report
estimated that Chiadzwa had a CPHT of over 1,000. By
comparison, the Rio Tinto/Rio Zimbabwe-owned Murowa diamond
mine near Zvishavane in Midlands province has a CPHT of 120.
HARARE 00001016 004 OF 005
¶16. (C) Eye witnesses and panners told us that they were extracting both industrial and gem quality stones, but predominantly the former. Cranswick believed that the site
had 30 to 40 percent industrial diamonds and the rest gem quality, including very good quality five to 30 carat colored diamonds. In his view, the area could be commercially exploited for five to 25 years, including excavation of diamond yielding hard rock that ran deeper than the one meter depth currently being worked. Econ specialist also was told that another diamond field was discovered this year within five km of Chiadzwa at the village of Chirasika. Panners had begun working the site and it had not yet become a police-restricted area. We have no estimates for the potential of this new diamond discovery.
¶17. (C) On October 27, Gono publicly declared that the
Zimbabwean economy could be turned around by stemming losses
caused by illegal mining at Chiadzwa. According to Gono, "A
reliable estimate shows that US$1.2 billion per month would
be realized from diamond sales in the country, enough to
solve the economic challenges the country is currently
facing." Cranswick said that while the estimate is probably
exaggerated, Gono may be looking for a large one time
dividend by selling a share of the mine or the mining rights
to an outside investor. This would dwarf the relatively
small profits he is now accruing from the mine.
¶18. (C) ACR has offered the government a deal in which ACR would take a 49 percent share of all diamond proceeds and
give the rest to the GOZ, but Cranswick did not seem
optimistic that the government would accept the deal.
-----------------------------
Two Other Major Diamond Mines
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¶19. (U) Murowa is a well-regulated mine operated by the
British multinational mining giant Rio Tinto, which since
2004 has held a 78 percent share in the open-pit Murowa
diamond mine in Zvishavane district, in southern Masvingo
province. Murowa is a deep kimberlitic deposit that requires
heavy machinery to extract the soil and rock.
¶20. (U) River Ranch is partially owned by retired General Solomon Mujuru (husband of Vice President Joyce Mujuru) and is located in Beitbridge in Matabeleland South. Mujuru gained a 20 percent stake in the mine at the expense of a local company, Bubye Minerals, which was pushed out to Mujuru's benefit. Bubye Minerals contested the ownership change, but was thwarted by the Zimbabwean courts. It is unclear if Mujuru purchased his stake.
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COMMENT
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¶21. (C) In a country filled with corrupt schemes, the diamond business in Zimbabwe is one of the dirtiest. Mining in general remains the largest single source of foreign exchange, but the potential of Chiadzwa is being lost to Zimbabwean corruption. While Gono talks about using diamonds to stabilize the Zimbabwean economy, he would only do so if he thought he could personally make more in the process. At present, police trying to bring order to Chiadzwa are benefiting Zimbabwean officials who see the diamond field as a new source of illegitimateincome; the people of Zimbabwe are seeing little return.
¶22. (C) It is also clear that Cranswick is a businessman trying to find any pressure point he can through which to leverage his own claim. At the same time, he sheds light on
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an industry that is enriching many of the same old corrupt Zimbabwean elite--and causing violence and deaths that so far have received little attention. END COMMENT.
MCGEE
Labels: AFRICAN CONSOLIDATED RESOURCES PLC, ANDREW CRANSWICK, BLOOD DIAMONDS, CORRUPTION, JAMES MCGEE
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COMMENT - See also here in
the Sydney Morning Herald. I wonder what Sue Lloyd Roberts makes of that. She seemed very sympathetic to him when she interviewed him on his difficulties getting back his diamond mine claims. I wonder how loud the cries for obeying the 'rule of law' are going to be.
This is proof if any was needed, that all mining should be in the hands of the government. These people have no compunction about stealing from some of the poorest people on the planet, and not only should they go to jail for life, the mining industry in Africa must be completely government owned. That is the only way to benefit from Africa's resources.
Cranswick's minerals smuggling racket exposed
By: TSM
Posted: Saturday, November 27, 2010 11:48 pm
AFRICAN Consolidated Resources (ACR) boss Andrew Cranswick, who is facing prosecution for allegedly acquiring diamond mining claims fraudulently, has made stunning confessions that he engaged in questionable activities after taking advantage of “lax” monitoring systems in Zimbabwe.
These include
smuggling precious minerals, externalising foreign currency and tax evasion. The startling revelations were last week exposed by the
Australian Business Day newspaper, which is in possession of a transcript of Cranswick’s interview with the
Australian Tax Office (ATO) which last month declared the controversial businessman bankrupt over a $1.1 million (Australian dollars) tax debt.
In a feature article titled “The bankrupt CEO and one hell of a secret” published last Wednesday, the Australian paper revealed details of Cranwick’s interview with ATO officials during which the businessman stated how he was secretly selling minerals from several African countries, including Zimbabwe, to businessmen from Asia.
The interview was reportedly conducted by ATO auditors Robert Dimitrovski, Glenn Lucy and Adriel Creta in April last year as part of an inquiry into Cranwick’s shadowy financial affairs.
The Australia Business Day described Cranswick’s financial and personal affairs as complex after noting that although he was resident in Zimbabwe, his income was coming from Mauritius while his resources company (ACR) was listed in London with his bank account and yacht club membership being held in Australia.
During the interview, it emerged that Cranwick’s dealings revolved around a company called Adonis Investments, a small shareholder in ACR that was originally run from the British Channel Islands but now based in Mauritius.
Adonis holds some of Cranswick's 2.7 per cent stake in London Stock Exchange-listed African Consolidated Resources, where Cranswick is still chief executive, despite the Australian bankruptcy order.
Cranswick confessed that his investment vehicle, Adonis, was doing much more than holding his stock (in ACR) and collecting his wages, but was behind the smuggling of precious minerals to Dubai and the externalisation of huge sums of money from Zimbabwe.
“Obviously to those authorities (in Zimbabwe), it’s got to be a hell of a secret,” Cranswick reportedly told the ATO officials.
“Metals are traded on quite a large scale, mostly silver and gold and a bit of cobalt and copper, where the broker is a legit firm, a big firm in Dubai called ARY Refineries, if you want to put that down.
“They (buyers) don’t know Zambia, Zimbabwe, Congo, Mozambique and how to find people and how to operate on the ground,” Cranswick reportedly said.
ARY Traders is one of Dubai’s biggest gold dealers and is run by Pakistani businessman Abdul Razzak Yaqoob.
On the externalisation of funds, Cranswick told the Australian investigators that Adonis was working in conjunction with one Tony Csaszar, a Mauritian or South African resident to move funds from Zimbabwe.
Under the arrangement, Cranswick would introduce clients to Csaszar after which he would reap a 25 percent share of any profit from every sucessful transaction.
“If there is a transaction, lets say someone in Zimbabwe says ok, listen, I need to get money out of the country, I introduce them to Tony.
“I say this is the chap, he wants to send it (money) to the UK or Australia or whatever the case may be and then Tony negotiates with him. He (Tony) copies me in on what he’s done,” revealed Cranswick.
He told ATO investigators that he was a resident of Zimbabwe but had not paid any tax here because “the system had completely broken down due to hyperinflation”.
He said he had paid some tax in Britain but had not paid Australian tax since 2004 because he was not an Australian resident.
Cranswick left Australia on June 9, 2009 and has not returned there despite a promise that he would go back.
Perth Federal Court Justice Neil McKerracher ordered him bankrupted on October 27 this year, appointing Anthony Warner of CRS Warner Kuger as trustee in bankruptcy.
Cranswick told the media earlier this month that he would not return to Australia where he is wanted for tax evasion declaring that he was very much at home in Zimbabwe.
Cranswick is embroiled in a bitter fight with the Government which this year cancelled his mining claims in the Marange diamond fields on the basis that the mining rights were fraudulently acquired.
The Government has since announced its intention to prosecute Cranswick on fraud charges.
It was not clear whether Cranswick also illegally exported diamonds along with the other minerals he mentioned to the Australians.
Labels: AFRICAN CONSOLIDATED RESOURCES PLC, ANDREW CRANSWICK, CORRUPTION, DIAMONDS
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ACR's Cranswick declared bankrupt in Australia, no perm dom
By: Ralph Mutema
Posted: Thursday, November 11, 2010 10:08 am
AFRICAN Consolidated Resources chief executive officer Mr Andrew Cranswick has been declared bankrupt in Australia for alleged tax evasion to the tune of A$1 million. Mr Cranswick is believed to be currently operating from Kent, United Kingdom where ACR is headquartered.
A source told the Sydney Herald that Cranswick, while in self-imposed exile, is currently a permanent resident of no country and keeps moving through Zambia, South Africa, Mozambique, Swaziland and Britain.
His company in Zimbabwe has been charged with unlawfully acquiring diamond claims at Chiadzwa by using subsidiary companies that were unregistered at the time
Cranswick says he cannot dare to come back to Australia because authorities there have made it clear they would block his exit to Africa and Europe - and hence his livelihood.
The Aussie Federal Court, in his absence, ruled last week that the mining executive became bankrupt, owing almost $1 million in taxes and interest, which has almost the same value in American dollars, on June 9 last year - the day he left Australia for the last time.
Cranswick had no chance to defend himself in Asutralia because notification of the tax case was sent to his estranged wife's address rather than to the home he has owned in Zimbabwe since 1990.
The Deputy Commissioner of Taxation in the Federal Court of Australia on October 27 issued the order against Mr Cranswick, which allows the state to attach any of his properties to recover the money.
"The sequestration order has risen pursuant to a creditor’s petition served on Mr Cranswick on Dece-mber 8, 2009 relating to unpaid taxes in Australia following an act of bankruptcy on June 9, 2009," read part of the notice.
In September, Cranswick’s ACR lost its diamond mining licence in Marange after it turned out that the London-registered company had fraudulently acquired the rights.
The business executive has accused Australia of violating his civil liberties by demanding tax from him when he is not a resident.
The Australian Taxation Office deemed Mr Cranswick as a resident for tax purposes, a decision the Federal Court upheld.
The ATO had argued in court that Mr Cranswick had declared on his passenger cards on 28 trips to Australia that he was a resident returning to the country and he intended to stay there for the next 12 months.
The Tax Office had also submitted that the business executive had bank accounts in Australia, received payments from overseas and admitted that he owned two properties there.
But Mr Cranswick protested, arguing that during the targeted years of 2005 to 2009, he resided and worked in Zimbabwe and could thus not be taxed in Australia.
He said his many visits to Australia were to see his daughters who live in Perth with his ex-wife.
They now stand to lose their house.
It is Mr Cranswick’s argument that he was denied a chance to defend himself as the notification was sent to his ex-wife’s address rather than to Harare.
''I suppose I might find some comfort in the curious truth that I am freer in Mugabe's Zimbabwe than I could ever have been in Australia,'' he wrote to the Australian paper.
Cranswick has been likened to Indiana Jones, which he finds embarrassing. Rather, he draws a comparison with the Crocodile Dundee star Paul Hogan, who temporarily lost his freedom to leave Australia amid a battle with the Tax Office.
Labels: AFRICAN CONSOLIDATED RESOURCES PLC, ANDREW CRANSWICK
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Mining firm charged with fraud
by Nelson Banya, Reuters
08/11/2010 00:00:00
ZIMBABWE focused African Consolidated Resources (ACR) has been charged with fraud and violating the country’s precious stones laws and will soon appear in the high court, the company said.
ACR said it faced allegations of unlawfully acquiring diamond claims in Marange by using subsidiary companies that were unregistered at the time, a process the authorities considered fraudulent.
"ACR has been legally advised that this should make no difference to the validity of the Marange Claims and accordingly that the charges are groundless," the company said.
London-listed ACR is already involved in a court battle with the Zimbabwean government which cancelled the company’s claims in the Marange fields in the east of the country in 2006.
Zimbabwe’s high court confirmed ACR’s titles in a Sept. 2009 ruling. It rescinded that decision this year, citing irregularities in the acquisition and registration of claims.
Last week, Zimbabwe police arrested six directors linked to a joint venture firm mining diamonds in Marange, also on allegations of fraudulently acquiring the concession.
The arrested executives include five officials from the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) and a Zimbabwean representative of its South African partner, Core Mining and Minerals, in the 50-50 diamond mining joint venture, Canadile Miners.
A magistrate will rule on Tuesday on the executives’ bail application.
Labels: AFRICAN CONSOLIDATED RESOURCES PLC, ANDREW CRANSWICK, CORRUPTION, MARANGE DIAMOND FIELDS
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Court revokes ACR licence
By Chakanetsa Chidyamatiyo
THE High Court has revoked its earlier judgment and nullified African Consolidated Resources’ mining claims in Marange as it emerged the company fraudulently acquired the rights.
Justice Charles Hungwe on September 25, 2009 declared ACR and its subsidiaries — Heavy Stuff, Olebile, Dashaloo and Possession Investments — the rightful owners of the mining claims. However, yesterday Justice Hungwe overturned his own ruling in light of the new revelations.
ACR, the judge ruled, had concealed important information in the September 2009 case.
He said ACR had fraudulently acquired the mining rights because its subsidiaries were yet to be registered at the time of obtaining the mining rights.
"I find that applicants have no locus standi in judicio (no standing at law) to seek the order that they seek in the counter application on the basis that they do not have any title to any claims in the Marange diamond fields.
"In any event the counter application suffers from a fatal defect in that it does not join in these proceedings the parties whose rights would be adversely affected by the order they are seeking.
"Not only that the counter-claim must in the very least in order to qualify as such in terms of the rules, be an answer to the main claim by first respondent; it is not," Justice Hungwe ruled.
He said ACR’s subsidiaries were guilty of fraud through misrepresentation.
"Only a person can be granted a prospecting licence. Since none (of the subsidiaries) was incorporated, there was no person to release a certificate of mining," he said.
Justice Hungwe said the September 29 case had proceeded on the assumption that the subsidiaries were duly incorporated.
"It seems to me now that quite a lot of information was kept away from the court," he said.
He also noted that the Marange area had been reserved against prospecting at the time ACR fraudulently sought the mining rights.
"The notice was displayed at the Mining Commissioners’ notice boards in Mutare and Harare.
"It is incompetent for one to procure a licence in an area reserved," Justice Hungwe said.
The judge dismissed ACR lawyer Mr Jonathan Samukange’s argument that no one suffered prejudice after the ACR subsidiaries were subsequently registered.
On if the Mines and Mining Development Ministry came to court with dirty hands, Justice Hungwe said the rule applied where one is a fugitive.
"Analysis is that first respondent (Mines Minister) has not disqualified himself the protection of this court.
"The principle of dirty hands does not apply to respondents because they are not a fugitive to justice.
"There are other ways to secure compliance," Justice Hungwe said.
He said the Mines Ministry had come to court because they were in compliance of an order of the same court and thus could not be classified as justice.
"It would be inappropriate to hold that they are in contempt of court," Justice Hungwe said.
He dismissed Mr Samukange’s argument that the same case was pending in the Supreme Court.
"There is ample authority . . . nothing prevents seeking of rescinding of judgment," he said.
Advocate Farai Mutamangira acted on behalf of the Mines Ministry.
Labels: AFRICAN CONSOLIDATED RESOURCES PLC, MARANGE DIAMOND FIELDS
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ACR requests Biti's mediation
By: TZG-TFG
Posted: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 1:10 pm
AFRICAN Consolidated Resources (ACR) has written directly to Finance Minister Tendai Biti to help it strike a 50/50 mining deal with government at Chiadzwa diamond fields.
The London-registered and London listed company said it is agreeable to an out of court settlement, and want the minister to act as a broker for such a deal. ACR said Mines and Mining Development Minister, Obert Mpofu, would not be the ideal person to honour such a deal, which government is unlikely to approve of.
In Mid-Term Fiscal Policy Review statement presented earlier this month, Mr Biti suggested an "out of court settlement" between ACR and government over the diamond claims.
Government accusses ACR of fraudulently obtaining mining claims to mine diamonds at Chiadzwa in the Eastern district's Marange fields.
The case is currently before the Supreme Court after government appealed against last year’s verdict delivered by High Court Judge, Charles Hungwe, which said the claims belonged to the mining company.
“We remain willing to consider any reasonable proposal to resolve matters amicably," wrote ACR's Chief Executive Mr Andrew Cranswick to Mr Biti.
Mr Cranswick, who is now temporarily exiled to the United Kingdom where ACR is registered added: "Unfortunately, there is animosity and mistrust between parties at present and accordingly we would welcome a pro-active role from your office to bring the parties to a negotiating table, on an entirely without prejudice basis.”
The communication was also copied to President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who have always remained uninvolved in the legal wrangle.
“Whilst we remain confident that the law and the facts are clearly supportive of our position, we appreciate that this is a matter of national importance, which must be resolved, preferably by acceptable compromise,” added Mr Cranswick.
Labels: AFRICAN CONSOLIDATED RESOURCES PLC, ANDREW CRANSWICK
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ACR diamond mining licence cancelled
By: TH-tzg
Posted: Saturday, March 27, 2010 12:28 pm
THE Government of Zimbabwe has finally cancelled African Consolidated Resources’ Chiadzwa diamonds mining licence after an unsuccessful appeal by the London Stock Exchange listed company.
The news comes as Mines and Mining Development Minister Obert Mpofu denied having any relations with Mbada Holdings, one of the investors mining in the Marange diamond fields, as had been speculated in certain sections of the media.
Government had, through Secretary for Mines and Mining Development, Mr Thankful Musukutwa, served ACR with a notice to cancel its claims last month arguing that they were pegged in an area reserved against prospecting.
It was Mr Musukutwa’s intention to cancel the licence on March 10, 2010 for this reason. It was also believed that ACR's diamond licence was obtained fraudulently.
President Mugabe this month revealed at a meeting with journalists that ACR had obtained its licence after the flight of DeBeers, who were illegally extracting and exporting diamonds from the Chiadzwa district for 15 years without the knowledge of government.
DeBeers had misinformed government that they were prospecting for the precious mineral, when they were infact mining and exporting it.
"ACR just inherited the claims from DeBeers where they (DeBeers) managed to hide from us information regarding the Chiadzwa diamonds for more than 15 years," said President Mugabe.
“DeBeers was telling us that they were just testing to evaluate whether they were diamonds or not, ivo vachitokumba madiamonds edu kuenda nawo kuSouth Africa (whilst looting those diamonds and taken them to South Africa).
"When we discovered what was happening, DeBeers ran away and ACR inherited the claims.
ACR appealed against the decision by Mr Musukutwa to the minies minister in accordance with the Mines and Minerals Act.
After considering ACR’s grounds for appeal, Mpofu on Wednesday cancelled ACR’s title to Marange, reiterating that its claims were pegged in a reserved area.
"I hereby, in accordance with the provisions of Section 50 (4) and (5) of the Act give directions to you and the Secretary that the Certificates of Registration are to be cancelled. In cancelling the Certificates of Registration, no concession is made that the ACR certificates of registration were ever valid," he said.
Mpofu said he was satisfied that Mr Musukutwa had exercised his discretion fairly, reasonably and correctly when he invoked Section 50 of the Mines and Minerals Act.
"The pegging of claims in a reserved area is simply a matter that the Secretary, vested as he is with the duty of overseeing the administration of the ministry, cannot ignore.
"I am satisfied that the grounds detailed in the notice of appeal do not warrant me exercising my discretion in favour of the ACR group in general and the ACR subsidiaries in particular in relation to the certificates of Registration," he said.
Mpofu said ACR had also acquired its claims fraudulently.
"On 19 February 2004 the area more fully described in Reservation Notice number 1518 was declared a Reservation Area with effect 0600hrs on 20 February 2004 . . . The Certificates of Registration are all dated subsequent to the date upon which the Reservation Notice became effective.
"At the time the Certificates of Registration were purportedly registered, the ACR subsidiaries were non existent, and according to the Chief Mining Commissioner, fraudulent misrepresentations were made to the Assistant Mining Commissioner that the ACR subsidiaries were in existence," Mpofu said.
The ACR subsidiaries are Dashaloo Investment, Possession Investments, Olebile Investment and Heavy Stuff Investment.
According to Mpofu, Dashaloo was incorporated on or about 29 June 2006, whereas from the records kept in the Mining Commissioner’s Registry, it appears that Dashaloo registered its claims on 4 April 2006 and 1 June 2006.
Possession was incorporated on or about 29 June 2006, whereas from the records kept in the Mining Commissioner’s Registry it appears that Possession registered its claims on 4 April 2006 and 1 June 2006.
Mpofu says Heavy Stuff was incorporated on or about 14 July 2006 yet from records kept in the Mining Commissioner’s Registry, it appears that Heavy Stuff registered its claims on 19 April 2006 and 1 June 2006.
Olebile was incorporated on or about 29 June 2006 whereas from records at the Mining Commissioner’s registry, it appears Olebile registered its claims on 10 April 2006.
Mpofu said this constituted a breach of the provisions of the Mines and Minerals Act.
"Section 20 of the Act provides that only a ‘person’ can be granted a prospecting licence. A person in this context refers to a juristic person, so constituted by the act of incorporation or a natural person. At the time of the purported issue of Certificates of Registration, there was no ‘person’ to whom such certificates could be granted," he said.
Mpofu added: "More importantly, Section 61 of the Act provides that every company holding mining rights shall at the time of the registration of the rights, register the name of an accredited agent with the Mining Commissioner.
"If, therefore, the ACR subsidiaries were non existent at the time of the cancellation, they could not have complied with the necessary requirements of the Act, and to the extent that they purport to have complied with the Act, they misrepresented to the Mining Commissioner and the Mining Commissioner acted on that misrepresentation to his prejudice."
Mpofu denied that he had become a party to the disputes saying it was ACR that instituted proceedings against him and that he was forced to defend himself.
He accused ACR of denigrating and vilifying his office and the Government in court proceedings and in various publications across the media around the world.
"It is, in fact, the ACR group which has maliciously circulated the false and misleading reports that I have been instrumental in granting Reclam mining rights over the disputed Marange diamond area.
- Maliciously claimed that I have a relationship with Reclam dating from the time when I served as Minister of Industry and International Trade.
- That I have had personal financial benefit from that relationship, I deny all the allegations relating to bias, specifically, I deny any alleged bias relating to my alleged association with Reclam at Zisco," Mpofu said.
"I have never had any association with Reclam other than in its capacity as a shareholder of Grandwell Holdings Limited, which is, in turn, a shareholder of Mbada Diamonds (Pvt) Ltd. It is common cause that Reclam’s association with Zisco started in the 1990s while I only became a minister in 2005," he added.
Mpofu said all actions by his office were in the national interest adding: "I cannot, and do not have direct or personal interest in this dispute."
He said the onus was on ACR to make valid and founded allegations and to substantiate them by producing cogent proof.
The minister said ACR’s contention of bias in its notice of appeal was without merit.
"I consequently decline to recuse myself," he said.
On Tuesday, Mr Musukutwa wrote to ACR notifying it of the cancellations of its Certificates of Registration by Mpofu.
"As a consequence of my aforesaid cancellation of the Certificates of Registration, the relevant Mining Commissioners shall post upon their respective notice boards a notice giving particulars of the cancellations. The particulars of these cancellations shall be published in the Government Gazette and a newspaper circulating in the relevant mining districts," he said.
ACR boss fears arrest
Meanwhile, ACR boss Mr Andrew Cranswick is currently out of the country on business and is afraid he will be arrested on his return.
The application was filed on Monday and is related to charges stemming from Cranswick’s alleged illegal acquisition of diamonds, including 129 000 carats recovered from the company in 2007.
Cranswick was once arrested over this issue but the Attorney-General declined prosecution pending determination of a wrangle over ownership of the gems.
The 129 000 carats of diamonds are currently kept by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe as per a Supreme Court order.
Labels: AFRICAN CONSOLIDATED RESOURCES PLC, ANDREW CRANSWICK, CHIADZWA, DIAMONDS, INVESTMENT LICENSES
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Corruption by the black man, not white man
By: Basil Mutoti
Posted: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 12:00 pm
DEAR EDITOR - I read everyday with shock how black people are labelled as corrupt and incapable of running multi-national businesses. I think this is a disease that the African continent has to rid itself of. We hear about corruption allegations all over the world and many big corporations have gone down due to corruption.
The energy giant Enron went down due to corruption. Today, Iraq is being rebuilt by companies in which former US president Dick Cheney has huge interests. In Zimbabwe, I remember losing a lot of money when the Bank of Credit and Commerce (BCC) went under, due to corruption.
Anyone smart and strong enough to fight delusional thinking and who pays attention to current events should clearly see that corporate corruption of the US, UK and many other Western political systems is so pervasive and powerful that there it will take centuries to root out, if at all.
Corporate greed and corruption are more endemic in western systems that they can ever be in Africa; and the global financial crisis is a result of that greed.
Infact, there is an argument that corruption in Africa is fuelled by western interests that tend to divide these countries to make it easy to extract natural resources.
President Mugabe recently highlighted that De Beers group were mining diamonds in Chiadzwa region in Zimbabwe illegally for 15 years and taking them out of the country.
Such issues are not discussed in mainstream media; and black reporters shy away from such reports.
No-one really cares about people like the Meikles Family who benefitted from the apartheid system in Zimbabwe when blacks were segregated.
No-one questions how people like Roy Bennett made a lot of money when they were merely serving in the BSA police. Part of their history is completely obliterated; and the slave mentality makes us think they just had money to buy farms, businesses, etc.
Interestingly, Bennett recently revealed that there were diamonds at his farm in Chipinge. How long did he know that? Considering he hasn't been to that farm in yonks, he should have known a while ago.
No-one questions how people like African Consolidated Resources' Andrew Cranswick made millions in colonial Zimbabwe and on what basis they claim to own the rich Chiadzwa district; or where they got the money to buy that claim.
I will not defend corruption in whatever form; but it should never be selectively applied. To fingerpoint the likes of Philip Chiyangwa, whom we have seen rise from humble beginnings, is counterproductive.
Let's reward those who work hard and shun corruption; by blacks or whites.
The inferiority complex that the black man suffers today, makes them see corruption in blacks and everything good if done by the white man.
We have a long way to go indeed. In the meantime, we swim in our own sewage.
Labels: AFRICAN CONSOLIDATED RESOURCES PLC, ANDREW CRANSWICK, COLONIALISM, CORRUPTION
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ACR boss fears arrest over Chiadzwa diamonds
By: TH-tzg
Posted: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 2:56 am
THE chief executive of Zimbabwe's African Consolidated Resources, a company that is claiming to have the right to mine diamonds at Chiadzwa, has filed an urgent chamber application at the High Court seeking to bar police from "arresting and detaining" him on charges he says the State had already dropped.
Mr Andrew Cranswick is currently out of the country on business and is afraid he will be arrested on his return.
The application was filed on Monday and is related to charges stemming from Cranswick’s alleged illegal acquisition of diamonds, including 129 000 carats recovered from the company in 2007.
Cranswick was once arrested over this issue but the Attorney-General declined prosecution pending determination of a wrangle over ownership of the gems.
The 129 000 carats of diamonds are currently kept by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe as per a Supreme Court order.
Mr Cranswick's legal team accuse Mines and Mining Development Minister Obert Mpofu of personalising the dispute between Government and ACR.
Police were still to respond to the application.
Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku on January 25 ruled that the 129 400 carats of diamonds initially seized from ACR in January 2007 by Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe must be kept at the Reserve Bank until the finalisation of the appeal on the issue.
ACR is fighting in the courts over the seizure of its diamond claims and gemstones.
The company wants to go into a 50/50 mining deal with Government as last resort.
Labels: AFRICAN CONSOLIDATED RESOURCES PLC, ANDREW CRANSWICK, CORRUPTION, DIAMONDS, OBERT MPOFU
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De Beers, ACR looted Zim diamonds: Pres Mugabe
By: Philip Murombedzi
Posted: Sunday, March 7, 2010 7:06 pm
LOOTED: De Beers and ACR looted Zim diamonds for 15 years
MINING companies like De Beers and African Consolidated Resources looted diamonds in the Marange district of Manicaland for many years lying to the Zimbabwean government that they were prospecting in that area, says President Robert Mugabe.
Speaking to journalists on the 4th of March, to commemorate the day his Zanu PF party won a decisive victory against the apartheid Rhodesian Front government of Ian Douglas Smith, President Mugabe shed light on the contentious issue of diamond mining at Marange and how previous claim owners, including De Beers, had looted the valuable mineral for over 15 years under the guise of prospecting and research.
President Mugabe said government was not in a war with companies, that is why these companies and other British companies can still operate in Zimbabwe.
He added that Zimbabwe only had a bilateral dispute with British Labour government of previous leader Tony Blair and now Gordon Brown.
“We have more than 400 British companies, but we have not touched them because we have not quarrelled with them.
“We are quarrelling with the British government,” explained the President.
He expressed hope that the country would be able to sell its diamonds now that it had complied with all demands of the Kimberly Process Certification.
He praised Russia and China for vetoing a proposal by Britain and the United States to impose United Nations sanctions against Zimbabwe.
“We are grateful to Russia and China for vetoing the sanctions motion.
“If we had money, we could challenge the sanctions illegally imposed on Zimbabwe by the West at the International Court (of Justice),” said President Mugabe.
He said there was unanimity in the inclusive Government on the recently published Indigenisation and Empowerment Regulations.
He said the principals were in agreement that locals were supposed to be the owners of resources although there were concerns that the enunciated empowerment policies could drive away investors.
“When we discuss issues, we don’t seem to disagree much; for example, on indigenisation, the policy of empowerment.
“We enunciated it a long time ago in line with the principle of sovereignty.
“It is the expression of our sovereignty.
“You get from the side of the MDC views that perhaps it could drive away investment.
“Some say it is about how we will apply it that is important, others don’t want it at all, but no one is opposed to the ownership of resources.”
The Zimbabwean government cancelled ACR's title to diamond deposits in Marange and took ownership of all the diamonds that had been mined by that company.
Labels: AFRICAN CONSOLIDATED RESOURCES PLC, DEBEERS, DIAMONDS, MUGABE, NEOCOLONIALISM, SANCTIONS, ZDERA
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Govt cancels ACR’s diamond licence
TH/TZG
Tue, 16 Feb 2010 03:36:00 +0000
GOVERNMENT has cancelled African Consolidated Resources’ title to diamond deposits in Marange, Manicaland, and has since communicated its decision to the London Stock Exchange-listed company.
The Herald is also reliably informed that Government has started investigating the company’s various mining activities all over Zimbabwe.
Documents in this paper’s possession show that the Government notified ACR of the cancellation last month.
ACR chief executive Andrew Cranswick yesterday said they had received the letter and would lobby Government for a 50-50 joint venture.
He said the letter served to show that their company was the "rightful" owner of the claims.
In a letter dated January 28, 2010, Secretary for Mines and Mining Development Thankful Musukutwa said he was empowered by Section 341 of the Mines and Minerals Act to appraise ACR’s claims in his capacity as mining commissioner.
"In my capacity as Secretary (for the) Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, you are hereby given notice of my intention to cancel the Certificates of Registration with effect from 10 March 2010 being a period of not less than 30 days from the date of this letter," he wrote.
Musukutwa said the grounds upon which the Certificates of Registration were being cancelled were as recorded in Section 50 (1) (a) of the Act.
"In this regard, at the time the blocks or sites covered by the Certificates of Registration were pegged, they were and still are situated on ground reserved against prospecting and pegging under Section 35 of the Act.
"This appears from Reservation Notice 1518 dated February 2004," he said, while further advising ACR that it had the right to appeal against the decision.
"You are, in accordance with the provisions of Section 50 (2) of the Act, entitled at any time before the proposed date of cancellation of the Certificates of Registration, to appeal in writing to the Minister of Mines and Mining
Development against such cancellation," he said.
The decision will soon be published in a Government Gazette.
Cranswick said: "We don’t understand the motives behind these cancellations. ACR offered Government a 50-50 joint venture repeatedly for the past two years but they have been ignored.
"The cancellation is an acknowledgement that we have valid titles in Marange. We will continue lobbying Government for a joint venture for the benefit of the people."
In 2006, Government declared null and void the company’s Certificates of Registration on the grounds that they were improperly granted.
The cancellation empowered the Government-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation to exploit the Chiadzwa diamond resource.
ZMDC later partnered Mbada Holdings and Canadile Miners and are mining the Chiadzwa fields after having invested over US$100 million in state-of-the-art mining and security equipment.
They have also constructed an airstrip to facilitate the transportation of diamonds as per Kimberley Process Certification requirements.
ACR then sought legal recourse in a bid to regain the control over the diamonds and the mining claims.
Meanwhile, reliable sources say Government is "unsatisfied" with ACR’s activities in Zimbabwe and has launched an investigation into the company’s operations.
"We are looking at the company’s mining interests across all sectors, whether it is gold or anything else, to establish the investment they have put into the country.
"Although they are a London-registered company, we are not aware of any business activities they are carrying out in Zimbabwe, especially in mining," said the source.
Labels: AFRICAN CONSOLIDATED RESOURCES PLC, ANDREW CRANSWICK, DIAMONDS, MARANGE DIAMOND FIELDS
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ACR mining license cancelled
Mutsawashe Makuvise
Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:42:00 +0000
THE Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has cancelled a diamond mining license held by U.K.-based African Consolidated Resources Plc., the Zimbabwe Guardian has learnt. At least
four other miners have also had their licenses cancelled and can no longer mine in the Marange diamond fields.
Companies
partnering with the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corp. can, however, continue mining. That includes Mbada Mining, a joint venture between ZMDC and Grandwell Holdings Limited, owned by South Africa’s New Reclamation Group Ltd and Canadile Miners (Private) Limited.
The Zimbabwe government seized mining claims owned by African Consolidated in October 2006.
In letters dated December 8, the Manicaland Mining Commissioner notified Dashaloo Investments, Possession Investments, Olebile Investments and Heavy Staff Investments, including African Consolidated Resources (ACR), of the intention to cancel their certificates of registration as the sites covered by the registrations are an area that was reserved by the Government in February 2004.
“The grounds upon which the Certificates of Registration are being cancelled are as recorded in Section 50 (1) (a) of the Mines and Minerals Act (Chapter 21.05).
“I am satisfied that at the time that the blocks or sites covered by the Certificate of Registration were pegged, they were and still are situated on the ground reserved against prospecting and pegging order under Section 35 of the Act...
“You are, in accordance with the provisions of Section 50 (2) of the Act, entitled at any time before the proposed date of cancellation of the Certificate of Registration, to appeal in writing to the Minister of Mines and Mining Development against such cancellation,” read the letter from the Mining Commissioner.
The cancellation of the claims will be effective from January 25 next year.
Government, through Reservation Notice number 1518 dated February 19 2004, reserved the area in question.
The government has appealed a September 25 High Court ruling that confirmed the company’s right of title to the claims.
Labels: AFRICAN CONSOLIDATED RESOURCES PLC, INVESTMENT LICENSES
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Kimberly process: neocolonialism alive and well
FEATURE by Mukanya Makwira
Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:07:00 +0000
THE continued intransigent behavior by African Consolidated Resources (ACR) plc of throwing spanners on potential investors in the Marange diamond fields has thrown into focus the real meaning of the impending commemoration of the Heroes' Day celebrations. It has also brought to the fore the hitherto purpose of the visit by the Kimberly Process some weeks back.
Several foreign investors have shown willingness to invest in the diamond fields. According to finance minister Tendai Biti, the fields have the potential to solve three quarters of the country’s budgetary needs. However, the potential has remained just that due to the incessant threats by ACR on the potential investors.
The ACR chief executive Andrew Crarnswick is said to have told the investors to stop dealing “with the dangerous issue”. Since when has been an investment dangerous? Probably he knows better.
In a rather bullish and arrogant tone, he is said to have further boasted that the country was under United States of America and European sanctions, a fate that would befall anyone who dared to take a stake in the fields.
As to why the EU or any other individual country would take such any action has all to do with the continuity of neo-colonial hegemony over African resources in several African countries despite proclamations of independence and self-governance.
Mr. Crarnswick did not even hide the fact that their LONDON lawyers were waiting to sue anyone who decided to go against his warning. Is it not a subject of great consternation to every African and especially those who fought for the liberation of this country and the continent that issues to do with who has to invest in the country are decided in the Western capitals, far from the glee and influence of the owners of the resources.
At a glance, Murisi Zwizwai, the deputy minister of mines and mining development and Patrick Chiadzwa, headman Chiadzwa seem to be two strange bedfellows.
The duo have, however, found themselves conjoined at the wrong end of the stick, under attack from the very elements that have always been bent on discrediting the country, this time using the Kimberly Process to protect their kith and kin’s interests.
The Kimberly Review Process team that visited Chiadzwa has since published a damning preliminary report that refers to “horrific violence”, and recommended that operations cease until further notice.
As per Cranswick’s revelations, the whole scene was pre-planned.
In pursuit of their agenda, the Kimberley Process team had the neo-colonial implants in the team, Brad Burns of the United States department, Cecilia Gardener from the World Diamond Council and Abdul Omar from the Canadian government, came with a predetermined outcome and were prepared to go to any length to rubber stamp it.
Of interest in the whole saga was the active involvement of prominent MDC activist Newman Chiadzwa. This followed the public rebuke of Zwizwai by his party, the MDC-T, accusing Zwizwai of being economic with the truth for daring to confront the truth.
Prior to the signing of the Global Political Agreement (GPA), the MDC-T, together with their alliance partners, all creatures of the very Western machinations, like the Zimbabwe lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), Human Rights Watch called for the banning of the sale of Zimbabwe diamonds alleging that atrocities of “genocidal” proportions were occurring in Marange.
They depicted a virtual war zone with some “civic organizations” claiming that up to a thousand people were killed by the security forces and buried in mass graves. Much to their annoyance, the purported mass graves could neither be found by the fact finding team nor located by the elements that claimed they knew where they were located. The purveyors of falsehoods had hoped that the team would not be allowed access to the fields so as to save them from the embarrassment.
What happened at the Holiday Inn in Mutare removed all doubt as to who was behind this and and the intentions thereof. In the so-called review meeting, held in the wee hours of the night, interestingly chaired by Newman Chiadzwa, they tried tom coerce headman Patrick Chiadzwa to accept confirm the existence of mass graves in the area.
They claimed that they had evidence that corroborated their claims from villagers. Newman had the temerity to indicate that he personally saw thirty panners killed by a firing squad led by one superintendent Ndlovu. Surprisingly, his alleged “confessions” could only be corroborated by him alone.
Whilst ACR want to be viewed as victims of “state grabbing” of private property, there are more questions than answers that need explanation. The company has held the claim since 1974 and claim to have only commenced operations three years ago. Why were they not operating all along? Why didn’t they declare the proceeds of their operations?
Is this not holding a country to ransom or they were waiting for “their government” assume the reigns of power?
Remember, this is the same company that was alleged by media reports to have entered into massive deals with the MDC-T treasurer Roy Bennett soon after the March 2008 elections.
What had been the company’s role prior to the elections? Was it not one of the companies along with the likes of Anglo-American Company and British American Tobacco (BAT), who provided the repressive Rhodesian regime with the life blood until 1980? Are we seeing a return to the Rhodesian times?
The coincidence is just too much to ignore.
Such lack of transparency in the mining sector has been the reason why the government has been calling for increased local ownership of resources. The country is literally stagnant due to lack of funds whilst some British company is busy siphoning or holding on to a valuable claim with potential to ease the financial burden.
It will be also of immense benefit to Zimbabweans if the company could please tell the nation as to how much it paid for the diamond fields for which they are only willing to dispose at “top dollar”, as Cranswick said.
Are we reliving the age of colonial expropriation of our resources for a pittance?
So, the Kimberly process has to be put in its proper perspective. The process, far from trying to bring the sector into the “wild west of Marange” was put in motion to stampede the country’s attempts to attract investment on the diamond fields in a bid to protect ACR.
If it was all about Marange, why ban diamonds from Murowa mines in Zvishavane and River Ranch in mine Beitbridge?
The gallant sons and daughters who fought for the liberation of this country sought to remove the daylight injustices that unfortunately continue to receive favour amongst some political players in the country. As the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni recently said, it is up to us Africans and indeed Zimbabweans to chart our own destiny as the West will never do us such a favour.
Labels: AFRICAN CONSOLIDATED RESOURCES PLC, BLOOD DIAMONDS, DIAMONDS, KIMBERLEY PROCESS, MARANGE DIAMOND FIELDS, NEOCOLONIALISM
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