Categories: Stories

ACR’s Cranswick sobers up

African Consolidated Resources chief executive Andrew Cranswick has sobered up.  His report for the six months to September appeared reconciliatory as it did not mention his long standing battle with the Zimbabwean government over the Marange diamonds for which the London-listed company is better known.

Cranswick reported that his company had made solid progress across its portfolio of assets which include gold, phosphate, nickel, platinum group metals, copper rare earth elements and diamonds. But it made a loss of $1.84 million.

The report, however, dwelt on the gold projects at Gadzema and Pickstone-Peerless. There was no mention of the company’s diamond mining dispute at all, yet the company has been embroiled in the dispute with the government for more than four years.

High Court Judge Charles Hungwe who awarded the company the Marange claims in September last year reversed his judgement in September this year. The company has said it is appealing against this ruling but it is silent about this reversal in its report.

The report was also silent about the progress that the SSSB Group which signed a memorandum of understanding with the company in June to develop open pit mining at Pickstone had made.

The SSSB Group was hastily cobbled up after the withdrawal of TWP Investments, a much larger company that belongs to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange listed Basil Read Holdings.

TWP said it had pulled out of the project because of the squabbles between Cranswick and the government and was pursuing its own projects in Zimbabwe.

ACR, however, remained cash rich with $7.4 million cash at the end of November.  It had a cash balance of $15.4 million at the end of March.

(43 VIEWS)

Charles Rukuni

The Insider is a political and business bulletin about Zimbabwe, edited by Charles Rukuni. Founded in 1990, it was a printed 12-page subscription only newsletter until 2003 when Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation made it impossible to continue printing.

Recent Posts

Will Mnangagwa go against the trend in the region?

Plans by the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front to push President Emmerson Mnangagwa to…

October 22, 2024

The Zimbabwe government and not saboteurs sabotaging ZiG

The Zimbabwe government’s insatiable demand for money to satisfy its own needs, which has exceeded…

October 20, 2024

The Zimbabwe Gold will regain its value if the government does this…

Economist Eddie Cross says the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) will regain its value if the government…

October 16, 2024

Is Harare the least democratic province in Zimbabwe?

Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, which is a metropolitan province, is the least democratic province in the…

October 11, 2024

Zimbabweans against extension of presidential term in office

Nearly 80% of Zimbabweans are against the extension of the president’s term in office, according…

October 11, 2024

Zimbabwe government biggest loser when there is a discrepancy in the exchange rate

The government is the biggest loser when there is a discrepancy between the official exchange…

October 10, 2024