Documents obtained by the Zimbabwe Independent this week,
indicate that a total of 77 special mining grants straddling over 2 000
hectares were transferred to Afrochine in April this year, underlining China’s
bold intention to stake its claim over the lucrative “Persian Gulf of Strategic
Minerals,” part of which lies in Zimbabwe.
The term, Persian Gulf of Strategic Minerals was
popularised at the height of the Cold War when a United States Congress Committee
on Strategic Minerals and Mining highlighted US intentions to gain control of
vast minerals of geo-political significance strewn over Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe,
South Africa, DRC, then Zaire, and Zambia.
In Zimbabwe, the area which was primarily of interest to
the US was the Great Dyke, where Afrochine, as documents gleaned by the
Independent this week show, was, on April 29, 2021, given rights over vast
special grants once held by locals.
Global super powers like China, Britain, France and Russia
consider the area’s vast mineral treasure trove in the same manner they regard
the Persian Gulf in the Middle East which is endowed with 75% of global oil
reserves.
As part of this publication’s investigations into the
growing dominance of Afrochine Smelting in the country’s mining sector with
government’s ambitious plans to achieve US$12 billion by 2023, the Chinese
company was granted a range of chrome special grants with registration numbers
ranging from 8335 (Part X1X) to 8405 (Part X1X) between April 29 and April 30
this year by Mines and Mining Development ministry law officer Jonathan
Mhiribidi. This makes Afrochine one of the largest chrome claim holders in the
country.
Cumulatively, the special grant approvals to Afrochine
amount to 77. Afrochine intends to set up an integrated chrome processing plant
with an annual turnover target of US$1,5 billion.
An approval letter confirming the allocation of special
grant 8431(PartX1X) to Afrochine Smelting by Mhiribidi reads:
“Please be advised that the following Special Grant (SG
8431) has been approved by the permanent secretary. Please note that proof of
payment of application fees and rentals should be submitted to head office
before the special grant can be dispatched to provincial offices.”
The lucrative grants, whose optimal extraction and
beneficiation, if realised, will dwarf Zimasco’s 150 000 tonnes annual output
by 300%, are strewn around Ngezi, Mapinga and Darwendale in Mashonaland West
province.
Dated April 29, 2021, the letter was delivered to
Mashonaland West provincial mining director Sibongile Mpindiwa and copied to
Afrochine Smelting management.
The letter also spells out that Afrochine Smelting, for
each of the 77 special grants it was granted, paid application fees of ZW$5
000. This translates to ZW$385 000.
A previous investigation revealed on December 11, 2020, that the decision by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) to grant Afrochine Smelting rights to drill and explore for coal inside the Hwange National Park was a directive from Tourism minister Mangaliso Ndlovu.
The Chinese firm had been granted a special grant coal
concession registered under number 5767. At that time, the government’s
unprecedented decision to award licences to Zhongxin Coking Company Mining
Group and Afrochine Smelting to conduct geological surveys sparked outrage.
The licences have paved the way for large-scale coal
extraction inside a wildlife park which generates millions of dollars annually
in tourism receipts.
In the latest chrome claims acquisition spree by Afrochine
— a subsidiary of Chinese conglomerate Tsingchan Holdings — the special grants
to the firm, according to the confidential documents seen by the Independent
are set to expire on April 27, 2023, with a “validity period” of 24 months.
Tsingchan Holdings accounts for 25% of global steel
production.
One of the receipts generated by the Mines ministry for SG
8431 granted to Afrochine highlights that the firm would assume control of “14
731 hectares within Reserve Area MSW 002/003 in the mining district of
Mashonaland West” to undertake chrome exploration and extraction operations.
“A special grant is hereby issued to Afrochine Smelting
Private Limited (hereunder referred to as the holder”) to carry out mining
operations for chrome in terms of section 291 of the Mines and Minerals Act
(Chapter21:05),” part of the receipt, with serial number 0002282, generated on
April 28, 2021 reads.
“An area of approximately 14 731 hectares situated . . . in
Mashonaland West to an extent that such area would be open to prospecting and
pegging where the area is not reserved, bound the following coordinate. I
hereby certify that Special Grant Number 8431 has been duly registered in terms
of the Mines and Minerals Act.”
According to the terms of the special grant, Afrochine,
would be required to “submit programmes of the mine’s annual report as
prescribed by the Geological and Mining Engineering Departments” and “submit
production and labour returns”.
The Chinese firm is prohibited from exporting chrome ore in
its raw form, while the government is not liable to paying any compensation
should it terminate the special grants. Afrochine mine manager Laston Mlauzi
declined to discuss the matter.
“Why do you want that information? It’s confidential
information. You have to come to our offices in Selous. That’s the procedure,”
Mlauzi said yesterday.
The company’s managing director Benson Xu said he was busy
in meetings. Mines and Mining Development minister Winston Chitando was not
available for comment.
An official source, however, said Afrochine Smelting,
leveraging on the green light it was granted by the government over the special
grants, was now elbowing out previous holders of the claims. “As we speak,
renewal of licenses for special grants and pegging new ones in areas now held
by Afrochine remains banned by government. In essence, government forfeited the
special grants rights we held and awarded them to Afrochine,” the source said.
“Afrochine is now in the process of evicting previous SG
holders from the areas which it now controls.”
An affected claim holder said he was recently booted out of
Ngezi. He said officials from the Mines ministry in Mashonaland West province
told him that the government had decided against renewing their grants as they
had now been transferred to Afrochine.
“In Ngezi, the government has also given the directive that
previous holders of these grants should make way for the Chinese. We are being
evicted on the pretext that we failed to satisfy stipulated requirements, but
this is all too clear that the government is mortgaging the vast chrome
resources to Afrochine at the expense of local people,” the claim owner said.
Under its ambitious plans, Afrochine intends to set up a
carbon steel plant and a ferrochrome plant, while discussions to set up a
railway line and a power supply line are underway. Construction of a dam that would
guarantee adequate water supply is also being envisaged. Zimbabwe Inependenrt
0 comments:
Post a Comment