News

Mining Weekly | Africa

19 April 2024

• Will the Zimbabwe Gold, or ZiG, restore currency confidence?
  The heightened sense of urgency within Zimbabwe’s government to act as the country’s currency crashed – losing 90% of its value since the beginning of the year – was there for all to see in the past few weeks. The latest tell-tale sign was the assumption of office of the new central bank governor on March 28, a month earlier than the scheduled departure of his predecessor, to expedite the launch of a new unit. Unveiled on April 5 and set to enter into circulation by month-end, the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) is described by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) as a “structured currency” that is backed by $285-million worth of reserve assets comprising $100-million in greenbacks, 1.1 t of gold in the bank’s vaults and an additional 1.5 t held abroad, as well as other precious metals.
• Rio, Saudi Arabia said to vie for stake in First Quantum mines
  Rio Tinto Group and Saudi Arabia’s state-backed Manara Minerals Investment Co. are among suitors considering bids for a stake in First Quantum Minerals’ Zambian copper mines, according to people familiar with the matter. Japanese trading houses Mitsui & Co. and Sumitomo Corp. have also been studying the assets, the people said, asking not to be identified as the talks are private. First Quantum is looking to sell a minority stake in its Sentinel and Kansanshi mines in Zambia and is seeking first-round bids in the coming weeks, they said.
• Sibanye's Siphumelele shaft on track for May restart; Marikana 4B shaft to be shut
  Multinational mining and metals processing company Sibanye-Stillwater says the Siphumelele shaft at its Rustenburg operation is on schedule to resume production during May, as planned. A surface ore conveyor belt system at the shaft suffered damage in February when an ore collector bin attached to the shaft headgear sheared off and fell to the ground.