Kuvimba seeks US$150m for Shamva, signs up to gold tracing platform

- Local - July 17, 2024
Trevor Barnard
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Zimbabwe’s largest gold producer is negotiating with potential partners for a US$150 million investment to boost production at its Shamva mine by 50%.

Kuvimba Mining House — 65% owned by the state sovereign wealth fund Mutapa — has already undertaken a feasibility study for a large-scale mine and processing plant, according to acting Chief Executive Officer Trevor Barnard.

“We are discussing that with potential partners to go forward,” Barnard told reporters on Monday. “This is a resource which is really significant, it’s large, it’s high quality.”

Zimbabwe bought Shamva from Metallon Gold in 2020 as part of a push to acquire mining assets in the country. Kuvimba expects gold output of 95,000 ounces this year from its gold mines.

Freda Rebecca, the largest of Kuvimba’s operations, expects output of 75,000 ounces this year, according to its managing director Patrick Maseva-Shayawabaya. “It’s a slight increase from last year, attributable to us processing a bit more volume than last year, a better grade, and an improvement in efficiencies in the plant,” he said during a tour of the mine.

Kuvimba has also announced the rollout of a system, developed by Comstack, to track gold output.

“It enhances our gold traceability system from the mine to the market,” he said. “It is important we have regulatory compliance, not only within Zimbabwe but also internationally.”

Barnard explains: “This ensures people have confidence in our legitimacy and understand that the gold we produce is actually gold we’ve mined, processed, and sold to the market. The system we use was developed by Comstack.”

Garikai Mutandwa, Head of Operations for Comstack in Africa, said the system allows international buyers to trace the metal to source. It is being implemented first at Freda and Jena, before extending to other operations.

“Our system uses blockchain technology to ensure that the gold is traceable and ethically sourced,” Mutandwa says. – (NewZWire)

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