Zimbabwe mining companies and players to watch

Great Dyke Investments (GDI): Darwendale platinum project

A 50-50 partnership between Afromet JSC – which is 100%-owned by Russia’s Vi Holdings – and Kuda Tagwirei’s Landela Mining Ventures, GDI is a project to develop a platinum project at Darwendale.  The first phase is expected to cost US$500 million, targeting annual output of 280 000 ounces of platinum group metals and gold. Mine construction is expected after the financial close, which is expected by 31 March, 2020.

The African Export-import Bank was appointed as the main financial partner and lead arranger for the project. The continental bank has put up US$192 million towards the project. The project will be implemented in three phases and is expected to produce 860,000 ounces of PGM and gold per year at full capacity. To put the scale of the mine’s potential into perspective, annual output for Zimbabwe – from the country’s three PGM mines – was 978,692 ounces in 2018.

Vast Resources: JV for Chiadzwa diamonds

Listed on AIM in London, Vast Resources entered into a joint venture with the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) in 2019 to mine the Heritage concession at Chiadzwa. Ahead of that ZCDC partnership, Vast agreed a partnership with Chiadzwa Mineral Resources, a company representing the Chiadzwa community interests in the diamond concession.

During 2019, the company sold its gold interests in Pickstone and Eureka mines to Padenga Holdings to focus on the diamond project. Vast signed a binding conditional bond issue deed for a facility of up to US$15 million, via the issuance of secured convertible bonds to UK based fund Atlas Capital Markets, funds that will be partly used to bring the Zimbabwe diamond project into to production.

The factor to watch is how the ZMDC partnership works out and Vast’s ability to raise further cash to develop the site.

Invictus Energy: Muzarabani energy prospect

Invictus Energy is an Australian-listed company prospecting for gas and oil in Muzarabani, Zimbabwe.  In 2019, the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) approved Invictus’ Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) prospectus.

Independent surveys pointed to “substantial resource potential” at the prospect. The last estimate, released by GeTech Corp on July 1, 2019, showed potential gas resources of 9.25tcf (trillion cubic feet), which would make the prospect one of the largest in the region.

However, this remains only potential, and must be confirmed by the drilling of an oil well to confirm the find. A seismic survey is planned in 2020. Invictus plans to then spend up to US$20 million to sink a well, now expected in 2021, once rigs are secured from East Africa.

The key factor to watch is Invictus’ farm-out process, where it seeks a larger partner to develop the prospect. Invictus hired UK form ENVOI to run the process.

Oil and gas projects take long to develop. Mozambique’s US$25 billion gas find, one of the largest in history, will only start production in 2024, a total of 13 years after the resource was confirmed in 2011, and following surveys done in the late 1990s.

Kamativi Tailings: Lithium development

Zimbabwe Lithium Company (ZLC) is expected complete a pilot plant and start production of lithium concentrates in 2020, after clearing legal hurdles. A term sheet was signed with Transamine Trading S.A., a Swiss based off-taker, to secure a US$9.5 million debt facility to cover capital costs of Phase 1 of the project. A flotation plant to process Kamativi tailings is expected by Q4 2020.

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Existing operations

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