Categories: Stories

Mhangura makes a $78m loss

Nothing seems to be going on well for the troubled Mhangura Copper Mines. It’s results for the 12 months ending June 1998, were seven months late and they were a disaster, and although things are reported to have improved in the six months ending December 1998, shareholders are likely to be kept in suspense unless the company speeds up its reporting.

Turnover was down by 54 percent from $118.4 million in 1997 to $54.3 million last year. The main cause of the drop in sales is said to be a drop in production mainly due to the rehabilitation at Miriam Mine which was scheduled for completion by September 1998 but was slowed down because of lack of cheap funds after the company’s bank failed to secure an offshore loan.

Ore milled at Miriam dropped from 562 000 tonnes in 1997 to 305 000 last year. Recoverable copper dropped from 3 510 tonnes to 1 751 tonnes. Copper anodes produced dropped from 7 702 tonnes in 1997 to 4 680 tonnes last year and copper sold decreased from 3 880 tonnes to1 145 tonnes while gold sales dropped from 107kgs to 26 and silver from 6 208 kgs to 1 591 kgs.

The company had an operating loss of $77.9 million down from a loss of $25.7 million the previous year. Total loss after taking into account interest paid dropped to $123.6 million compared with $53.3 million the previous year resulting in an accumulated loss of $227.4 million.

The company, however, says the rehabilitation of Miriam and the sourcing of outside concentrates for its smelter and refinery which has been operating at below capacity are expected to improve its results for the period ending December 1998.

(39 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

ZiG loses steam, falls against US dollar for five consecutive days

The Zimbabwe Gold fell against the United States dollar for five consecutive days from Monday…

November 22, 2024

Indian think tank says Starlink is a wolf in sheep’s clothing

An Indian think tank has described Starlink, a satellite internet service provider which recently entered…

November 18, 2024

ZiG firms against US dollar for 10 days running but people still do not have confidence in the currency

Zimbabwe’s new currency, the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), firmed against the United States dollars for 10…

November 16, 2024

Zimbabwe among the top countries with the widest gap between the rich and poor

Zimbabwe is among the top 30 countries in the world with the widest gap between…

November 14, 2024

Can the ZiG sustain its rally against the US dollar?

Zimbabwe’s battered currency, the Zimbabwe Gold, which was under attack until the central bank devalued…

November 10, 2024

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