1. Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR) has reviewed upwards forex to local currency ratios for paying gold producers to 70/30 with 70% of the gold sale proceeds being paid in local producer’s nostro account and the balance of 30% being paid in local currency at the ruling rate in the producer’s ZWL account.
This comes after small scale miners have ex- pressed concern over the forex component and the late payment for gold delivered to Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR), saying the development will cripple production of the yellow metal.
According to the FPR General Manager Fradreck Kunaka, small scale gold buying agents and artisanal producers shall be paid in cash at a flat price of forty-five United States dollars (USD45.00) per gram of fine gold.
“Large gold buying agents must have a mining operation producing a minimum of fifty (50) kilogrammes fine gold per month to qualify for a Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR) agency permit. Source Great Dyke News24.co.zw2.
2. The Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) is calling for a gold trading framework that provides a win-win situation between Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR) and the gold miner to minimize or eradicate the discrepancy between the world price of gold and the local price of the yellow metal.
This comes after Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR) reviewed upwards forex to local currency ratios for paying gold producers to 70/30 with 70% of the gold sale proceeds being paid in local producer’s Nostro account and the balance of 30% being paid in local currency at the ruling rate in the producer’s ZW$ account.
According to the ZMF President Henrietta Rushwaya, the fixed price of US$45/ gram was announced at a time the world price of gold was at around US$54.8/ gram, representing almost 80% of the world price Listed diversified mining concern, RioZim has recorded a 41 percent decline in gold production in the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 from its local operations on the back of erratic power supplies.
In a trading update for the period under review, RioZim said that power supply continued to be erratic during the quarter, which negatively impacted volumes across the company’s operations adding the power supply situation improved towards the end of the quarter. Source Great Dyke News24.co.zw
3. Murowa Diamonds recorded a seven percent decline in output to 685 000 carats in the financial year ended December 31, 2019 due to erratic power supplies.
In the comparable period in 2018, the diamond producer, a business unit of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed and multi-commodity resource group, RioZim, produced 740 244 carats.
“Murowa Diamonds (Private) Limited recorded a seven percent regression in production to 685 000 carats from 740 244 carats produced in the comparative period in 2018.
“The low production was attributed to intermittent power supply which resulted in lost production running time,” said RioZim in its report for the period under review.Source: The Chronicle.
4. Fidelity Printers and Refiners has reportedly been failing to pay small scale gold miners on time as Covid-19 restrictions have limited flights into the country, thereby affecting smooth importation of hard currency cash needed to pay the clients.
Covid-19, a viral disease first detected in Wuhan, China, has killed hundreds of thousands and infected millions across the world, forcing Governments globally to enforce lockdowns to contain its spread, which have grounded airline operations and shuttered most economic sectors.
It was not immediately clear how much was owed to the small gold miners, but industry sources said the miners were owed significant amounts from at least two weeks of unpaid deliveries.Source: The Herald.
5. South Africa is facing “a deep economic recession” due to overdue structural changes compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the president of the country’s mining lobby group. Mxolisi Mgojo made the comments at the Minerals Council South Africa’s online annual general meeting yesterday, where he was re-elected president.
The lobby group, which represents 77 member companies including four associations which together generate 90% of South Africa’s mineral production by value, had called on the government in January to take urgent steps to address the country’s economic crisis, before the global pandemic emerged.
The consequences of COVID-19, and the successive ratings agency downgrades, had made previously recommended economic restructuring measures even more urgent, Mgojo said.
Source: miningjournal.com
