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The Minister of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment, Saviour Kasukuwere, signed the MoU on behalf of the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board (NIEEB) at a local hotel in Bulawayo.
The joint venture project will be undertaken through five Zimbabwe incorporated companies that are wholly owned subsidiaries of ZimDiv Holdings Limited.
Under the proposed joint venture arrangements, NIEEB through the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Fund (NIEEF) will acquire 51 percent of the ordinary shares in each of the Zimbabwean registered companies and ZimDiv Holdings Limited will hold the balance of 49 percent.
The companies are Zulu Lithium (Pvt) Limited, LM Minerals (Pvt) Limited, Tinde Fluospar (Pvt) Limited, Katete Mining (Pvt) Limited and RHA Tungsten (Pvt) Limited.
ZimDiv holds 22 blocks of mineral claims to mine tungsten over a total project area of about 1 520 hectares. The claims are located about 300km north-west of Bulawayo, 20km south-east of Hwange and 5km from Tshontanda siding. The claims will be explored by RHA Tungsten (Pvt) Limited.
ZimDiv holds 12 blocks of ordinary mineral claims to mine lithium and tantalum over a total project area of 300 hectares.
ZimDiv’s initial estimates show that the deposit has the potential to develop into a world-class lithium and tantalum resource of Bikita Minerals size. These claims, to be exploited by Zulu Lithium (Pvt) Limited, are located within the Fort Rixon Greenstone Belt south of Shangani nickel mine.
ZimDiv holds 22 Special Base Metal blocks of mineral claims to mine rare earth mineralisation which includes dysprosium, cerium, thorium, lanthanum, samarium and yttrium. The Katete carbonatite deposit is located north of Kamativi Tin Mine in the south-westerly extension of the Zambezi-Luangwa rift. Expectation from further mapping and sampling is to develop a mining complex of 5 to 10 square km in size. Katete Mining (Pvt) Limited will work on these deposits.
ZimDiv holds four special mineral claims to explore for uranium and rare earth elements over a total project area of 600 hectares, located south-east of Kamativi in close proximity to the Lubimbi coal field. After establishing the extent of the uranium deposit, a special mining grant will be applied for to enable LM Minerals (Pvt) Limited to extract the uranium.
ZimDiv holds nine special base metal claims to mine fluorite over a total project area of 1350 hectares located in north-east of Kamativi. Fluorite is used in the steel production industry. These claims will be exploited by Tinde Fluospar (Pvt) Limited.
This joint venture has a potential of producing immense benefits to both NIEEF and the economy of Zimbabwe in general.
When the mineral resources have been established, value can be unlocked for the fund in two ways, namely, through sale of projects results to potential mine developers and through participation by NIEEF in the resultant mining companies on a 51 percent-49 percent basis in pursuance of the requirements of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act.
The communities living in the areas where future mining operations will be located will also benefit through the setting up of Community Share Ownership Trusts.
Apart from creation of employment in the affected areas, employees will benefit through the setting up of Employee Share Ownership Trusts.
Addressing delegates at the signing ceremony, Minister Kasukuwere said the new partnership was a clear demonstration that ZimDiv was committed to developing the country and its people.
“The decision by ZimDiv to partner with the NIEEB is not just recognition of the vast natural resources in Zimbabwe but also a clear demonstration of its commitment to the development of the country and its people. It also shows that they are confident in the Government’s policies, which include broad-based economic empowerment,” said Minister Kasukuwere.
“This is also confirmation of one of the fundamental objectives of the fund, which is to hold equity on behalf of and for the benefit of the people of Zimbabwe. Economic empowerment is one of the key cornerstones of the development of Zimbabwe as it is founded on the inclusion of the majority of Zimbabweans into the mainstream economy.”
Minister Kasukuwere said his ministry would stand by its mandate and commitment to ensure that all indigenous Zimbabweans are economically empowered, regardless of their political affiliation.
“The signing of this agreement marks the beginning of a great relationship that has the effect of attracting and generating interest from other companies that would have otherwise been hesitant to jump onto the bandwagon of indigenisation.
“I would like to express my gratitude to ZimDiv for respecting the laws of Zimbabwe. Their partnership illustrates that they share our vision of broad-based participation by the majority in the economy,” he said.
NIEEB chairman, Mr David Chapfika, said it was important for the country to mobilise resources to get into mining for the broad-based economic empowerment to be a success.
“The missing link in the broad-based economic empowerment is the availability of resources and NIEEB seeks to address that issue. Without the resources the board will not be able to do anything.
“President Mugabe has repeatedly called on the Government to spearhead the indigenous agenda. We should mobilise resources, capitalise and then get into mining,” said Mr Chapfika.
He said the board was striving to mobilise resources despite the challenges it was facing.
“We have endeavoured to spearhead the economic empowerment exercise although we are facing challenges that include lack of fiscal support from the Government. We have also not been able to collect levies, raise funds from the market as required by the law.
“The new partnership with ZimDiv is expected to unlock lots of resources and opportunities for the benefit of the people of Zimbabwe,” said Mr Chapfika.
Londile Moyo
Online Reporter