(SUNDAY MAIL ZW, REUTERS) Rio Tinto withdraws employees from Mozambique
Sunday, 03 November 2013 00:00
Mining company Rio Tinto is withdrawing the families of expatriate employees from Mozambique for their safety in a sign that an upsurge in kidnappings and violence is worrying investors. Other major companies developing big coal and gas reserves in the former Portuguese colony, Brazil’s
Vale, US oil company Anadarko and Italian oil and gas group Eni, said they were closely following political developments there, after clashes between the government army and opposition Renamo guerillas.
London-listed Rio Tinto, which mines and exports coal from north-west Tete province, said in a statement it was arranging to send home the families of foreign employees.
It announced the move a day after tens of thousands of Mozambicans marched in the capital Maputo and two other cities to protest against the threat of armed conflict and a recent spate of kidnappings by criminals.
“The safety of employees and their families is the number one priority,” Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique said, calling this a temporary precaution.
Its coal operations, including shipments, continue as planned, it said.
Seeking to reassure foreign investors and donors, President Armando Guebuza said last week he did not believe Mozambique ran the risk of sliding back into the kind of civil war that ravaged the country from independence in 1975 to 1992.
That conflict, which killed up to one million Mozambicans, was fought between Renamo and Guebuza’s Frelimo party.
Armed partisans of Renamo opposition leader Afonso Dhlakama have carried out sporadic raids and ambushes since April and in the last two weeks have clashed with government troops in central Sofala province and in Nampula province in the north.
Vale, which is also mining coal in Tete, and Eni, which is exploring large untapped offshore gas deposits in Mozambique’s Rovuma Basin, said they had no immediate plans to follow Rio Tinto’s action.
“We do not currently see a risk to our staff but we are of course monitoring the situation,” an Eni spokesman said. — Reuters.
Labels: MOZAMBIQUE, RENAMO, RIO TINTO
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(NEWZIMBABWE, REUTERS) Rio Tinto halts exports over Renamo threats
26/06/2013 00:00:00
by Reuters
MINING company Rio Tinto has suspended coal shipments from northwest Mozambique after the opposition Renamo party, a former guerrilla group, threatened to disrupt the Sena railway "coal corridor" to the Indian Ocean.
Although no attacks have been reported on the line, which snakes through 600 km (375 miles) of jungle from the coal fields in Tete province to the port of Beira, gunmen killed at least two people in ambushes on main roads in the region this week.
The attacks started two days after a public declaration of hostilities by Renamo last week that raised fears of a return to civil war in the southern African nation, two decades after the end of a 16-year conflict in which one million people died.
"We have paused our operations on the rail line while we assess the current situation in Mozambique," Rio Tinto said in a statement to Reuters.
Production at the company's Benga mine was continuing, it added.
Brazilian rival Vale, which is investing $4 billion in coal mines near Tete and is the main user of the Sena line, said it was still using the track but had increased security.
"We are alert, observing the events, avoiding unnecessary exposure in zones of potential conflict and interacting with other companies looking to obtain the best information possible," Vale said in a statement.
Rio's decision is the first concrete sign of economic fallout from the campaign by Renamo, which says it has missed out on an economic boom in the last decade based on massive foreign investment in the coal sector and off-shore natural gas.
The former guerrilla movement, founded in the mid-1970s with the backing of white-ruled Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa, is demanding political reforms, including a shake-up of the election commission, as a condition for halting its attacks.
For the last two months, Renamo and Frelimo, the formerly Marxist ruling party, have held talks about talks on political reform but made no headway.
Speaking on Tuesday, the 38th anniversary of independence from Portugal, President Armando Guebuza played down the seriousness of the violence, saying a few isolated incidents did not mean an end to peace.
"The government remains firm in its determination to find an answer to these questions through dialogue," he told reporters.
The army is already escorting convoys of vehicles on main roads in central Sofala province and foreign embassies have told tourists to avoid all but essential travel to the region, Renamo's wartime stronghold.
However, in a sign of a possible olive branch from the security forces, Army Chief of Staff General Paulino Jose Macaringue was replaced by General Graça Tomas Chongo, a general believed to have good relations with Renamo.
"He enjoys their support," said Mozambique expert Alex Vines at London's Chatham House think tank.
"The government is considering its options, while seeking further talks. The dangers for both sides of miscalculation are high."
Mozambican media said passenger services had also been reduced on the Sena line, which runs past Renamo's base in the remote Gorongosa mountains, from where guerrillas launched frequent attacks on the tracks during the war.
Analysts say a slide back into the all-out conflict that crippled Mozambique in its initial years of independence is unlikely, not least because Renamo lacks the capacity for a sustained fight.
However, Renamo is thought to have as many as 1,000 men under arms with the ability to wage a limited insurgency that could damage infrastructure and unnerve investors lining up to pour billions of dollars into the energy and mining sectors.
Labels: RENAMO, RIO TINTO
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(NEWZIMBABWE) Rio Tinto to keep Murowa Diamond Mine
24/06/2013 00:00:00
by Business Reporter
GLOBAL resources group Rio Tinto is set to retain its interest in Murowa Diamond Mine after the company reversed a decision to dispose of its diamond business.
The world’s number three miner said Monday it was calling off the proposed US$1.3bln sale of its diamond operations in operations in Australia, Canada and Zimbabwe after buyers failed to meet its asking price.
Rio Tinto has a 78 percent interest in Zvishavane based Murowa diamond with the balance owned by the locally listed RioZim Limited.
"After considering a number of alternative strategic ownership options it is clear the best path to generate maximum value for our shareholders is to retain these businesses," said Rio Diamonds and Minerals chief executive Alan Davies in a statement on Monday.
"The medium-to-long-term market fundamentals for diamonds remain robust, fuelled by growing demand for luxury goods in Asia and continuing strong demand in North America.”
Rio Tinto put its gem business up for sale in March last year after following a sharp fall in prices amid concerns about the eurozone crises crimping demand. The diamond unit reported a $43 million loss in 2012, down from a profit of $10 million a year earlier.
Following the announcement last year RioZim had indicated its interest in taking over majority control of the Zimbabwe unit.
"We're now in discussions with Rio Tinto Plc to acquire the 78 percent of Murowa that they want to offload," said Harpal Randhawa, whose private equity group Global Emerging Markets (GEM) recently bought 25 percent of RioZim.
Murowa has since agreed a deal with the government for compliance with indigenisation laws which require foreign firms to transfer control and ownership of at least 51 percent of their local operations to Zimbabweans.
Labels: DIAMONDS, MUROWA DIAMOND MINE, RIO TINTO
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(NEWZIMBABWE, AFP) Mozambique slams deadly Renamo raid
18/06/2013 00:00:00
by AFP
COMMENT - How odd. There is a SADC conference on Zimbabwe in Maputo, Mozambique, and all of a sudden RENAMO revives. Remember who funded and created RENAMO to begin with. Also, Rio Tinto is owned by Rothschild Bank (see Rothschild.info Timeline). - MrK
THE Mozambican government on Tuesday blamed opposition party Renamo for an attack a day earlier on a military arms depot that killed at least five soldiers amid faltering peace talks between the two parties.
"We were surprised by the tragic news that Renamo unleashed an armed attack," said Jose Pacheco, the ruling Frelimo's chief negotiator with Renamo.
Talks were set up after military skirmishes in April.
"We condemn this attack and warn that this attitude does not help democracy," Pacheco, who is also agriculture minister, was quoted as saying by Radio Mozambique.
Five soldiers died and two were wounded in an attack on an arms depot near the coastal city of Beira early Monday morning, according to state media.
"We received five bodies. They were the victims of shooting," Beira Central Hospital spokesperson Orlando Jamal told Radio Mozambique.
He confirmed two more soldiers were wounded in the attack, one of them seriously.
Other reports suggested six deaths, but officials weren't immediately available to confirm the casualties.
The attack occurred at the start of new talks between the two former civil war foes and amid Renamo's renewed militarisation.
Six previous rounds of talks have failed to yield a breakthrough on any of the major issues on the table, including Renamo's threat to boycott upcoming polls if the election law isn't amended.
Relations between the parties have been tense since the end of a 16-year civil war in 1992.
But Renamo lawmakers appeared to have been caught off guard by the news.
"I have no knowledge of this attack," the party's head negotiator, Saimone Macuiana, said Monday.
The attackers made off with an unspecified number of weapons from the military arsenal according to wounded soldiers interviewed by independent local television STV.
The attack bears a strong resemblance to raids carried out by Renamo rebels during Mozambique's civil war on government armouries.
The raid briefly shut down the crucial Sena railway line, which transports coal from mines in the northwest to Beira port.
"Yesterday all trains using the Sena line received instructions to interrupt their circulation at 07:30 and to restart at 14:00," Acucena Paul, spokesperson for Brazilian miner Vale, told AFP.
British-Australian Rio Tinto also uses the line to export coal from its operations in Tete province.
Labels: MOZAMBIQUE, RENAMO, RIO TINTO
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Concern over RioZim recapitalisation plan
16/03/2012 00:00:00
by bloomberg.com
THE Securities Commission of Zimbabwe said it is concerned that a proposed $55 million recapitalization plan by RioZim doesn’t provide sufficient information for shareholders to make their own assessment.
“There is need for disclosure on RioZim’s entire debt maturity profile so that investors and shareholders can make their own assessment on which debt might need early retirement,” Tafadzwa Chinhamo, the regulator’s chief executive officer, said in a statement published in the Newsday newspaper.
Without that transparency, it’s possible that all the money will be “channelled straight towards debt retirement, thus leaving the company with no working capital, a position which led to the current situation.”
“It’s not a big issue,” Josh Sachikonye, RioZim’s managing director, said in a phone interview from Harare. “We’ve met with the commission and we’re resolving that.”
A plan by the Harare-based gold and diamond miner to raise $40 million through a rights offer failed last year.
RioZim blamed Zimbabwe’s black empowerment laws, which require companies to be majority-owned by black Zimbabweans, for scaring investors. Subsequent newspaper reports said the miner had debts of between $40 million and $59 million. RioZim is due to hold an extraordinary general meeting next week.
Labels: INDIGENIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT ACT (ZIMBABWE), RIO TINTO, RIOZIM
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COMMENT - Isn't it great? :) Those 'analysts' need to declare their financial interests. It is almost touching how they call the PM 'Morgan', and tell the world how much he loves Anglo-American Corporation. :))) All the 'hate Mugabe' propaganda of the last decade has been nothing more than the fear of losing the transnational corporation's (Anglo-American De Beers, for instance) death grip on Africa's resources. And using their positions in the international media to make this campaign happen.
And isn't Reuters supposed to be an independent news agency? Oh I forgot, they are owned by the same people who are the largest single shareholder in Anglo-American De Beers, the world's largest diamond miner, and Zimbabwe owns 20% of the world's known diamond reserves.
The very same family that also owns Rio Tinto, and it's Murowa
diamond mine. Feel the radicalism. ;)
Zanu PF buoyed by Implats capitulation
14/03/2012 00:00:00
by Reuters
THE capitulation of a major platinum miner to Zimbabwe's demand to hand over a majority stake to local black investors will
embolden President Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF party to pressure other foreign companies ahead of elections expected this year.[Right, because 51% ownership of foreign corporations in Zimbabwe and them paying taxes is all about paying for the next elections. Poor Zimplats. - MrK]
Other miners are likely be
targeted to
fill Zanu PF election campaign coffers while the policy will be
wrapped in the flag of liberation and portrayed as a hammer blow to the last remnants of white colonial rule, analysts said.
South Africa-based Impala Platinum, the world's second largest platinum producer and the biggest foreign investor in the country, bowed on Tuesday to Zimbabwe's pressure to surrender a 51 percent stake in its Zimplats unit, a cave-in that followed months of wrangling.
Platinum's spot price has been soaring and shot past gold on Tuesday.
Mugabe, 88 and in power since Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain in 1980, and top Zanu PF officials have been hit with international sanctions after being accused of using political violence to stay in power.
[The country and government were hit with economic sanctions in 2001, which came into force in 2002, called the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001. - MrK]
One of Africa's longest-serving leaders, Mugabe is pushing for elections this year,
[The dictator! The despot! How dare he push for elections? The humanity. - MrK]
one year ahead of schedule,
[Ahead of whose schedule? The MDC's? Downing Street's? - MrK]
arguing the unity government he formed with Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai after a violent 2008 vote has broken down.
"This is more about Zanu PF not having ready access to cash ever since the MDC took control of the finance ministry," said Tara O'Connor of Africa Risk Consulting.
"And dollarisation (of the economy) has taken away Zanu PF's ability to print money and decimated the power of the central bank. They are strapped for cash and the mining industry has become the next target to fund the Zanu PF patronage system," she added.
[Which is really what dollarisation (or euro-isation) were all about - taking the power to regulate the money supply away from national governments. - MrK]
Zanu PF has been criticised over the past decade for patronage when seizing white-owned farms. Many farms are now in the hands of party loyalists instead of the landless black peasants who were supposed to benefit.
[And we all know the veracity of those claims. Over 200,000 families have received land under the Fast Track alone, another 150,000 under the Willing Buyer, Willing Seller program before it. The slur was that land went from 6,000 white farmers, to 5,000 'friends and cronies of Mugabe'. The entire Economist financed hitjob called 'Mugabe And The White African' is based on that premise. However, if you read Prof. Ian Scoones book, based on an actual survey of 400 farms, only 3% of recipients in Masvingo Province could be described as connected to the security state or ZANU-PF leadership - 'friends and cronies of Mugabe', as the slur goes. Also see from this article here: Myth 2: The beneficiaries of Zimbabwean land reform have been largely political ‘cronies’ This is the data from AGRITEX/World Food Program/Food and Agriculture Organisation:
OLD RESETTLEMENT (WBWS): 159,985
FAST TRACK
A1 145,000
A2 29,902
SMALL SCALE COMMERCIAL FARMERS
29,902
LARGE SCALE COMMERCIAL FARMERS
920
Source: AGRITEX, World Food Programme, Food and Agriculture Organisation (UN); table 2. Agricultural land utilization pattern, 2006/07
And this is the data for 5 years ago, even more people have been resettled today. - MrK]
Analysts said the big winner from the Implats move was Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere, a Zanu PF stalwart, while MDC leader, Prime Minister Tsvangirai, was a clear loser.
Victory
"It will be construed as a big political victory for Mugabe and Zanu PF and defeat for Tsvangirai who has been saying such actions will hurt the economy," said Tony Hawkins, a professor at the University of Zimbabwe's Graduate School of Business.
[And how old is the geriatric rhodesian Tony Hawkins, now age is an ok issue to condemn candidates by? - MrK]
"The guys (Zanu PF) will have certainly been emboldened and will look to extend this to the other mines," he said.
Other companies in the firing line now include Mimosa, a 50-50 joint venture between Implats and Aquarius Platinum , and Rio Tinto's Murowa diamond mine.
Zanu PF has also been accused of profiting from the Marange diamond fields, where human rights groups estimate
[Estimate based on what? The same way they 'estimated' thousands of deaths during the last election? - MrK]
at least 200 artisanal, or small-scale, miners were killed in 2008 when Zimbabwe's security forces seized the workings. Mugabe's government has denied this.
The valuation of the Implats stake transfer has not been worked out and the murkiness surrounding the agreement has raised questions about where the funds will really go.
But 31 percent of the total is nominally earmarked to go to the state's National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Fund, which is Zanu PF-controlled. Ten percent will go to local communities and 10 percent to Zimplats employees, according to the agreement announced by both sides.
The nationalisation drive also plays to the narrative Zanu PF wants to weave for the election: the black liberation movement recovering assets seized by white colonialists.
[Apparently that is more than 'a narrative'. More editorialising by Reuters' anonymous writer. - MrK]
"Mugabe is determined to show that he is the true Africanist taking back all the land and resources that whites have stolen. This is the image he wants to create," said Allister Sparks, a Johannesburg-based independent political analyst.
['A true Africanist'? Interestingly, Ben Freeth (Mugabe And The White African) equated Pan-Africanism with 'this hatred of the white man you have'. Pan-Africanism is the 'racism' they are talking about when they accuse Africans of 'being racist'. - MrK]
In contrast, Zanu PF has persistently portrayed Tsvangirai, a former miner, as a puppet of white capital.
"Morgan loves the mining industry because he was a miner and was given his start in life by Anglo American. He is a miner at heart but he sees both sides of the picture and this policy is not good for the workers or investors," said Tsvangirai biographer Sarah Hudleston.
[In fact, 'Morgan' loves Anglo-American so much, that he and his MDC helped to draw up the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001, which destroyed the Zimbabwe Dollar from Jan. 1st 2002 onwards. Even though it ended up killing thousands of Zimbabweans from preventable diseases. Yes Sir, Morgan Tsvangirai loves Anglo-American. - MrK]
Control
The ruling Zanu PF welcomed the Implats decision. "We are absolutely delighted. We have said this time and again, that we need to control our economy and resources," said spokesman Rugare Gumbo.
"The opposition (MDC) has no programme. I do not take them seriously, they don't understand the dynamics of liberation and they are just parroting their masters' line of thinking," Gumbo added.
Zimbabwe is not the only African country that is pushing for a bigger share of state ownership in resources and so the Zanu PF nationalisation march can also be portrayed as part of a wider Africanist agenda.
[No, really? So it may not be all about financing the next elections? - MrK]
But while mineral-rich countries from South Africa to Ghana are trying to get a bigger slice of their resource pie, Zimbabwe stands out for its radicalism.
"Zimbabwe always provides us with an extreme example of things happening elsewhere. Resource nationalism is not unique to Zimbabwe, it is happening across the continent. But Zimbabwe is just taking it to extreme levels," said O'Connor.
COMMENTS
RG_M
Tara O'Connor, Allister Sparks, Sarah Hudleston, Tony Hawkins......Can anyone see how interesting the Rhodesians are no longer asking the MDC-T to talk on their behalf now? They feel betrayed by the MDC-T because ZANU PF is scoring major blow-out successes.
Re-read the article again critically and you will see how even Tsvangirai's photographer is diving into directly demonising ZANU PF......They know that ZANU PF's ambitious Empowerment drive is real and it will bring about proper and lasting wealth, lasting prosperity for Blackie!!!! The whole article by Ed Stobbart is very similar to an article on the Wall Street Journal today.
I think this is the time the nation needs to be on high alert.....I am convinced the Rhodesians are going to their PLAN B if those in the know know what I mean. These guys were quite convinced that Implats was not going to budge.....now this has opened the floodgates.
The tone from the many whites who have commented here is definitely angry....even more angry than sender52......now compare their tone to Tsvangirai's statement in the Herald today that sanctions must be removed completely because they are hindering economic progress. Conflicting stance from the MDC-T and their handlers......could this be evolution of the MDC-T?
Labels: ANGLO-AMERICAN, DEBEERS, IMPALA PLATINUM, INDIGENIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT ACT (ZIMBABWE), NEOCOLONIALISM, NEOLIBERALISM, RIO TINTO, RUGARE GUMBO, ZANU-PF, ZIMPLATS
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Rio Tinto hands over 52 percent of Murowa Diamonds
08/10/2011 00:00:00
by AFP
MINING multinational RioTinto's Zimbabwean subsidiary Murowa Diamonds has ceded 51 percent of its equity to comply with a new law giving local blacks majority shares in foreign companies, a news report said on Saturday.
"Murowa Diamonds wrote to us yesterday saying they have given up 51 percent shares and these would be given to our people," the state-owned Herald newspaper quoted Indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere as saying.
The mine, located in the Midlands town of Zvishavane, was commissioned in 2004 with Rio Tinto owning 78 percent while the balance was controlled by Rio Zim, a local entiry listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.
Zimbabwe gave foreign companies including banks and mines up to September 25 to submit plans to sell 51 percent of their shares to the black community by 2015.
An official in the indigenisation ministry said around 700 companies had missed the deadline, warning them to follow the law or risk de-registration.
But Zimbabwe has also proved willing to strike individual deals with companies, giving platinum-mining giant Zimplats more time to submit its proposal and allowing British insurer Old Mutual to conduct a "first phase" of compliance by handing over 25 percent of its shares.
Still resistance to the empowerment regulations remains in pockets of the country’s lucrative mining sector, Kasukuwere said.
"The general trend of submitted plans shows a level of resistance in moving away from the proposal by the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe. The mining businesses are offering to dispose 26-30 percent as equity on commercial value,” he said.
“The balance is to be claimed as empowerment credits for corporate social responsibility programmes. It appears this approach has been agreed to and co-coordinated under the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe.
Kasukuwere said some companies were proposing to dispose of equity to individual Zimbabweans or to indigenous consortia rather than to designated entities as prescribed by the law.
"My overall assessment is that over 90 percent of the submitted proposals do not meet the minimum requirements and there seems to be an element of resistance. However, I am meeting the various mining houses to achieve agreement on compliance with the law," he said.
President Robert Mugabe says the indigenisation law aims to fight poverty and put control of the economy in local hands, but the scheme has raised tensions within the shaky unity government with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
Tsvangirai's party, which holds most economic portfolios in government, fears the law will scare off investors.
Labels: DIAMONDS, MUROWA DIAMOND MINE, RIO TINTO, SAVIOUR KASUKUWERE
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Minister threatens to cancel Zimplats licence
06/09/2011 00:00:00
by Nelson Banya I Reuters
ZIMBABWE said on Tuesday it could prosecute or cancel the mining licence of Zimplats, the local unit of Impala Platinum , for failing to agree to transfer majority ownership to local blacks, piling pressure on the firm to strike a deal.
However, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere, who is
leading the drive to increase Zimbabweans' control of the economy, said Harare had reached an agreement with Rio Tinto's Murowa mine and a deal was "imminent" for Aquarius' Mimosa mine.
The deals with Rio and Acquarius put the squeeze on Zimplats' parent, the world's number two platinum producer, which risks losing its concessions to others, especially the Chinese, who are favoured by President Robert Mugabe.
"Zimplats continues to defy the laws of this land, continues to abuse the process," Kasukuwere told reporters.
"We would like Zimplats to continue mining but if they continue to disregard the laws of the country we are left with no option but to invoke the provisions of the law. Zimplats will have to live with the consequences of their actions."
Kasukuwere, from Mugabe's Zanu PF party, spoke a few hours after the veteran leader told members of parliament he expected full co-operation of foreign firms with the empowerment plan.
Kasukuwere last month gave a 14-day ultimatum to mining companies, including Zimplats, Mimosa and Murowa, to come up with plans complying with the law requiring them to surrender majority stakes to black investors.
Under the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, companies failing to comply could lose their licences or face prosecution.
On Tuesday, Kasukuwere said 45 mining companies had their local ownership plans approved or were working towards full compliance, while 51 firms had ignored the two-week deadline.
Zimplats contributes about 10 percent of Implats' output and Zimbabwe holds the second-largest reserves of platinum after South Africa.
Kasukuwere did not give details of the agreement with Rio's Murowa diamond unit and would not comment on the response of Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), which runs the Unki mine.
Implats CEO David Brown said last month his company wanted to retain full control of Zimplats, adding Zimbabwe's equity policy "does not work".
Implats may not easily abandon its Zimbabwe operations and has announced a US$500 million expansion project there, which would bring its total investment close to $1 billion, the single largest investment in the politically troubled nation.
Mining is the anchor of Zimbabwe's economy, which is recovering from a decade-long recession, but analysts say Mugabe's policies are holding back the investment needed for faster growth.
Labels: INDIGENIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT ACT (ZIMBABWE), RIO TINTO, SAVIOUR KASUKUWERE, ZIMPLATS
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Govt threatens to seize Barclays, Stanchart
19/08/2011 00:00:00
by Nelson Banya I Reuters
THE government has given foreign firms, including mines and banks, a 14-day ultimatum to submit "acceptable" plans on how they propose to transfer majority stakes to local owners or risk losing permits, state media reported on Friday.
Firms targeted include platinum miners Zimplats, which is majority owned by Impala Platinum (Implats), and Mimosa, Implats's 50-50 joint venture with Aquarius Platinum. Others include Rio Tinto's Murowa diamond mine, British American Tobacco and local units of British banks, Standard Chartered and Barclays.
The companies risk losing their operating licenses if they do not submit the ownership plans, the state-controlled Herald newspaper reported.
Indigenization and Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere wrote to the firms on July 28, informing them they had failed to provide acceptable details of how they proposed to transfer 51 percent shareholdings to local people within the five years stipulated by the law, the newspaper said.
In March, Kasukuwere gave mining firms 45 days to file empowerment plans and imposed a September 30 deadline for the transfer of ownership.
The deadline to submit empowerment plans has since passed.
Last month, Kasukuwere told a conference the government had rejected 175 empowerment plans from mines which mostly proposed selling 25 percent shareholdings, with 26 percent being made up of credits awarded for social investments made in infrastructure, health and education facilities.
Zimbabwe's coalition government set up by President Robert Mugabe and his rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai two years ago following disputed elections is divided over the implementation of the empowerment law, enacted in 2008 and championed by the president's ZANU-PF party.
Tsvangirai has warned that the law threatens Zimbabwe's economic recovery, which started after the formation of the power-sharing government in 2009, following a decade in which GDP shrank by as much as 50 percent, according to official figures.
Labels: INDIGENIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT ACT (ZIMBABWE), RIO TINTO, STANCHART
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Mzembi castigates Renco Mine
Sunday, 26 June 2011 01:26 Local News
Sunday Mail Reporter
TOURISM and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi, who is also the House of Assembly member for Masvingo South, has lambasted
gold mining concern Renco Mine for failing to carry out developmental projects in his constituency.
Minister Mzembi castigated the company, a subsidiary of Australian diversified concern
Rio Tinto, for failing to repair roads and neglecting irrigation projects in the area despite reaping huge profits from its mining activities.
Speaking during a field day hosted for farmers in his constituency recently, Minister Mzembi said Renco Mine, one of the leading gold producing companies in the country, should vacate the area if not interested in pursuing community development and social responsibility programmes.
“I am saddened that despite making huge profits from this area, Renco Mine is not giving back to the community,” he said.
“This is unacceptable if one considers that it is one of the biggest mining firms in this country. It’s either you shape up or ship out of this area.”
Minister Mzembi said roads in his constituency were in a deplorable state owing to the heavy trucks owned by the mining company which patrol the area.
“For many years, Renco Mine has been using our roads,” he said.
“Most of the roads have become difficult to navigate because the heavy trucks that are owned by Renco Mine have damaged them.
“They carry their gold and make promises to repair the roads, but they do not stick to their promises. It makes sense for the company to assist in the repair of these roads, but, unfortunately, we are not seeing any commitment from them in this regard.”
Minister Mzembi also castigated the mining firm for neglecting irrigation projects that it set up in the 1990s.
- The Sunday Mail
Comments
Labels: RIO TINTO, WALTER MZEMBI
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Leading miners staying put
27/06/2011 00:00:00
by Business Reporter
LEADING miners such as Anglo American Corporation and Rio Tinto have applied for clearance to continue operating in the country putting paid to fears controversial empowerment laws could drive foreign investors out.A statement published by the indigenisation and economic empowerment ministry stated that some 173 companies had applied for mining business clearances among them RioZim which runs the Murowa Diamond Mine jointly with global resources group Rio Tinto.
The list also includes Anglo American Corporation which is developing the country’s third largest platinum mine, Unki in Shurugwi, Mimosa platinum mine and Mwana Africa subsidiaries, Bindura Nickel Corporation and Freda Rebecca gold mine.
Foreign mining firms are now required by law to localise control of at least 51 percent of their shareholding as part of efforts by government to give indigenous Zimbabweans control of the country’s economy.
Critics have warned that the law could force companies to leave the country or undermine further investment thereby hurting the country’s economic recovery.
However, most of the key mining houses have submitted plans to comply with the regulations.
Meanwhile the list published empowerment ministry included several Chinese firms as the emerging global economic superpower looks for a foot-hold on the country’s rich mineral resourses.
China is now Zimbabwe’s second biggest trading partner after South Africa and Chinese companies on the list included, Anjin of Chiadzwa, China-Zim International Corporation, Hong Ji Mineral development (Private) Limited and Chinajin Baki Mining (Private) Limited.
The mining sector has been a key driver of the country’s economic recovery buoyed by the current global commodities rally and positive policy measures by the coalition government.
"Favourable international commodity prices have improved the viability of mining concerns and resulted in the rejuvenation of operations, particularly in the platinum and gold sub-sectors,” the African Development Bank (ADB) said in recent review of the country’s economy.
“Against this background mineral output increased for gold (16.4 percent), diamonds (9.3 percent), platinum (8.6 percent), and chrome ore (6.5 percent) among others. Gold deliveries by both primary and small-scale producers amounted to 4116.2 kg over the period January to May, 2011."
The sector however needs at least US$6 billion to return to full viability and the ADB warned that the country’s empowerment laws had increased "uncertainty and adversely affected the confidence of international investors”.
Labels: ANGLO-AMERICAN, INDIGENIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT ACT (ZIMBABWE), RIO TINTO
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COMMENT - Rio Tinto is wholly owned by the Rothschild family, the richest family/dynasty on the planet. Should they fund local infrastructure, instead of just dragging diamonds, gold and other precious and industrial metal out of Africa? Or would that be too much of a burden on their $21 trillion fortune? You decide.
Zimbabwe may force miners to fund development
By Reuters
Tue 26 Apr. 2011, 20:50 CAT
A stacker/reclaimer places coal in stockpiles after processing at Rio Tinto"s Blair Athol Mine in Queensland in this undated handout photograph obtained May 2, 2010.Zimbabwe is considering legislation to force miners to fund development in local communities, the state-owned Herald newspaper said on Tuesday, citing Ministry of Mines and Mining Development officials.
Mining companies would be compelled to pay for development in communities in the mineral-rich nation where they are based under proposed amendments to the Mines and Minerals Act.
They would also need permission from local community leaders before starting operations.
"We know that we need the amended Act but it had to go through processes which could not be avoided," Thankful Musukutwa, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Mines, was quoted as saying.
Foreign mining companies are already facing a May 9 deadline to submit plans on how they will transfer 51 percent of their local equity to blacks in the southern African country.
Foreign players in Zimbabwe include Rio Tinto and Impala Platinum.
President Robert Mugabe is looking to raise funds as he pushes for elections this year aimed at defeating his unity government partner and rival, the Movement for Democratic Change.
Labels: IMPALA PLATINUM, INDIGENIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT ACT (ZIMBABWE), RIO TINTO
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No significant loss from diamond ban, says Rio
By: Reuters-TZG
Posted: Thursday, July 1, 2010 5:33 pm
GLOBAL miner Rio Tinto said on Thursday it had not suffered significant loss from Zimbabwe's ban on diamond exports and the interruptions to shipments from the country were limited.
Zimbabwe banned all diamond exports on May 28 until stones from Marange fields were certified by industry regulators. The ban has caused limited interruption to shipments, a Rio spokesman told Reuters. There has been an impact (on finances) but it is not significant for Rio Tinto, he said.
Rio Tinto is in discussions with the inclusive Government of Zimbabwe and is hopeful of resolving the ban shortly.
Rio Tinto owns 78 percent in Murowa mine, which produced 124,000 carats last year.
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Murowa, together with privately owned River Ranch, are both certified to export diamonds by the Kimberley Process (KP) certification scheme, an international initiative to ensure trade in diamonds does not fund violence.
Zimbabwe is in a dispute with the KP over the Marange diamonds but this week said it would soon start exports of the stones after regulators from 70 countries failed last week to agree to suspend trade in diamonds from Zimbabwe.
Early this year, Zimbabwe's government published rules that force foreign-owned companies to sell at least 51 percent shares to indigenous people.
Indigenisation minister, Saviour Kasukuwere recently said the rules had been revised to encourage investment, but the indigenisation quota is yet to be set.
We are encouraged by the approach of the new government but seek greater clarity around the investment environment before investment decisions can be considered, the Rio Tinto spokesman said.
Labels: DIAMONDS, KIMBERLEY PROCESS, RIO TINTO
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