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Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe Geological Survey
P.O. Box 210, Causeway, Harare
Phone: +263-726342  
Fax: +263-4-739601
zimgeosv@africaonline.co.zw

 Mines and Minerals Act

Chamber of Mines

Gold Miners Association of Zimbabwe

Travel and accommodation

The contribution of mining to total exports in 2010 amounted to 26.8% Mineral exports accounted for 52% of the country’s total exports worth $2.4bn as of end-October, 2014.

Zimbabwe Mining News

Source: CIA Factbook


Legend



Gold deposits
Legend and ore deposit name

 Geology
Zimbabwe is underlain by a core of Archean Basement known as the Zimbabwe Craton, which is intruded by the famous Great Dyke, a SSW-NNE-trending ultramafic/mafic complex. The Craton is bordered to the south by the Limpopo Belt, to the northwest by the Magondi Supergroup, to the north by the Zambezi Belt and to the east by the Mozambique Belt. The Craton is principally composed of granitoids, schist and gneisses and incorporates greenstone belts comprising mafic, ultramafic and felsic volcanics with associated epiclastic sediments and iron formations. It is overlain in the north, northwest and east by Proterozoic and Phanerozoic sedimentary basins. The Zimbabwe Craton is separated from the Kaapval Craton to the south by a zone of penetrative deformation and metamorphism – the Limpopo Mobile Belt with a polyphase history spanning Archean to Mesoproterozoic times. The Great Dyke is a long, narrow body of inward-dipping peridotites, with chromite bands, pyroxenites and norites representing activity from several intrusive centres aligned along a NNE-SSW striking graben structure. It extends for over 500 km and is more accurately considered as an elongate stratiform igneous complex rather than a dyke.
Mining


Zimbabwe is rich in mineral resources including coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals and diamonds and nationally about 40 minerals and mineral-based commodities have been produced. It is the world’s seventh largest producer of lithium (2%), and sixth largest producer of chrysotile asbestos (4%) and vermiculite (2%). Gold, platinum group metals (PGM’s) and chrome form the principal endowments. Zimbabwe is estimated to have 13% of the world’s chromium reserves, mainly in the Great Dyke. Chromite production declined by 27% in 2008 with Zimbabwe accounting for 4.7% of total output from Africa. In the last two years the country has slipped from the world’s fifth to eighth largest chromite producer. In the African continent Zimbabwe has the second largest reserves and is the second largest producer of PGM’s after South Africa. In 2008 it registered a 4.2% increase in platinum production. In terms of world production the country is ranked fourth for platinum (2.3%) and fifth for palladium and other PGM’s (1.7%). Gold production, which was the traditional mainstay and foreign currency earner, has plummeted over the past five years with the closure of several mines. 2008 production was half that of 2007 and was one sixth of the 2004 output. Zimbabwe is now ranked the tenth largest gold producer in Africa with the main contribution derived as a by-product of PGM production. In 2008 production decreases were also registered for ferrochrome by 24.4%, mined nickel (25.4%), asbestos (44.7%), phosphate rock (57%) and coal (19%). Iron ore production remained unchanged but pig iron and steel production ceased. Diamonds were one of the few mineral commodities with a production increase (14.7%) and in 2008 Zimbabwe was rated as the seventh largest producer in Africa.
Oil & Gas
No commercial deposits of petroleum have been discovered, although the country has substantial reserves of coal (>500Mt), utilized for power generation, and coal-bed methane (largest gas field in Southern or Eastern Africa) which is yet to be fully exploited.

Maps and images


Zimbabwe used to produce antimony as a by-product of its gold mining operations.

Chrome

Click HERE for an overview
  • Zimbabwe Mining and Smelting Company (ZIMASCO) produces high carbon ferrochrome from mines and smelters in Shurugwi, Mutorashanga and Kwekwe. Sinosteel Corporation agreed to buy Zimasco Consolidated Enterprises Ltd, the holding company for Zimbabwe's largest ferrochrome producer, for an undisclosed amount, Sinosteel said in September, 2007. Zimasco produces 210 000 tonnes of high carbon ferrochrome annually, accounting for about 4 percent of global ferrochrome production, said its website. State-owned Sinosteel and Zimasco inked the deal on September 19, following preliminary agreements earlier this year, according to the Sinosteel website. Sinosteel has been one of China's more proactive state-owned firms in investing overseas. It has invested in iron ore mining and exploration in Australia, plans to build a steel mill in India, has uranium exploration ventures in Australia and Niger and has entered a ferro-chrome joint venture with South Africa's Samancor Chrome.

  • On June 15, 2006, the Zimbabwe Mining Development signed an agreement to form a chrome mining joint venture with private Chinese company Star Communications; the deal is to be funded by the China Development Bank. It is likely that this joint venture is the result of  aprevious communications deal. 

Coal


Coal has been the dominant energy mineral for Zimbabwe. The country boasts of vast reserves of coal particularly in the north-west and southern parts of the country. Wankie Colliery Company, the only coal producing mine at present, has adequate capacity to meet the country’s needs in terms of energy requirements for domestic heating, agricultural heating, industrial energy as well as power stations. However, the quality of Wankie coal in terms of sulphur and phosphorous content is not suitable for metallurgical purposes and therefore such coal is imported mainly from South Africa. Other resources are being evaluated to determine viability of establishing a new power station to meet the country’s growing requirements.
Coal-bed Methane(CBM) recently discovered in the north-west of the country provides an alternative energy source to coal. The discoveries are considered to be comparable to those in the USA (according to Paul Tromp, an American who was involved in early exploration for CBM in Zimbabwe). Several exploration companies have reported viable resources awaiting further development and investment. This resource could be used for power generation, production of pharmaceuticals, ammonia-based fertilisers and other chemicals. Many downstream industries could be developed resulting in greater employment levels and a variety of new products.

 On December 16, 2003, state-owned utility Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) announced that it would sign a memorandum of understanding with China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC) for a coal mining project at Hwange. The government of Zimbabwe and ZESA were represented by company chairman Dr. Sydney Gata. On October 16, 2007, Pingdingshan Coal (Group) Company, Ltd. and China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation announced plans to mine coal in Zimbabwe alongside the state-owned Zimbabwe Power Company. Specifically, Pingdingshan International Mining Investment Company, Ltd., a subsidiary of Pingdingshan Coal (Group) Company, Ltd., will contribute 45% of the investment in the venture. The mining will occur at the Sinamatella Coal Fields. The plans were announced by the Vice General Manager of Pingdingshan, Liu Yinzhi. The current status of this project is unknown, as well as the exact price of the deal.

THE US$2 billion coal and methane gas project expected to ease electricity woes in the country and create about 4 000 jobs, in the Gwayi area of Lupane will start in January 2013.
The joint venture project between Oldstone Investment and Shan Don Sunlight Energy Company of China would see the companies embarking on coal extraction and power generation projects next year.
Ultimately, ailing industry and commerce are expected to be rejuvenated, as about 1 800 megawatts of electricity is set to be generated from thermal power stations to be set up by the firms.
In a speech read on his behalf by Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa at a groundbreaking ceremony for the venture in Gwayi yesterday, President Mugabe said it was the first time the country had undertaken a project to alleviate power shortages since they became apparent five years ago.
"I consider this project as beneficial to Matabeleland North Province and the nation as a whole and a well-timed one, for the country has been in short supply of energy since 2007.
"The success of this project will no doubt provide the necessary impetus for the development of our economy, which has been crippled by the power deficit and illegal sanctions," said the President.
Benefits of the project, he said, include employment creation, construction of social amenities, infrastructure development and expansion of agriculture through fertiliser production.
"All these benefits will start here in Matabeleland and cascade to other parts of the country.
"It is only through innovation such as this that we can pull the country out of the woods in the face of illegal sanctions and limited lines of credit. It is indeed high time that we have a paradigm shift in our approach to development and realise that the traditional way of financing such projects from the fiscus loans is not feasible at the moment."
He said the national debt was high and it was time to consider alternatives like joint ventures and Build Operate and Transfer models.
The President said such initiatives were attractive, as technical partners would come in as investors, not contractors, thereby bringing foreign direct investment accompanied by the necessary technology and skills to ensure they guarantee the performance of investment.
"It is therefore important to note that these alternative funding models are based on wealth creation and don't increase the country's debt burden," he said.
President Mugabe said such significant national projects required co-ordination from all ministries and departments.
He said it would be a shame if political bigotry stifled such important initiatives.
"We should rise above such naivety and pull together when it comes to achieving national development and safeguarding our national interests."
The President said the Minister of Defence had extended his appreciation to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Ministry of Water Resources Management and Development and the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development for working together, although it presented conflict of interest for the ministries.
"Where our ministry policies are at variance and appear to jeopardise this project, it is the interests of the project that remain paramount.
"Of course, it is expected that the project should comply with all regulations, especially to safeguard the environment. In this regard, it is important to strike a balance between environmental protection and national interests of overall national development, such that at the end the project benefits are realised with minimum damage to the eco-system," he said.
The President extended his appreciation to China for being always a friend to Zimbabwe, saying the project cemented further, the friendship and paved way for more beneficial economic cooperation between the two countries.
Reading a speech on behalf of Minister Mnangagwa, the Minister of State for State Security in the President's Office, Dr Sydney Sekeramayi said any event that threatened the growth of any sector of the economy, jeopardised national security.
"Any process which does not contribute to securing these interests will naturally constitute a threat and would obviously provoke a response from the Ministry of Defence, whether benign or otherwise," said Minister Mnangagwa.
He said the development of other sectors of the economy depended on the adequate supply of power to the extent that event well meaning investors have been hesitant to invest in the country.
The acting Minister of Mines and Mining Development, who is also the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Management, Francis Nhema said the project would be a timely boost as it came at a time when the energy sector was hugely depressed due to high demand for electricity, which is central to industrial development of any economy.
Chinese Ambassador Mr Lin Lin said next year, China would increase its cooperation with developing countries including Zimbabwe to achieve national benefit.
The chairman of the China Africa Sunlight Energy, Mr Wang Xinjia said he foresaw unprecedented levels of development in Matabeleland North and the whole of Zimbabwe due to the project.
"Several downstream businesses such as fertiliser and tyre products manufacturing, brick moulding, and liquid gas processing for several use shall be done here," said Mr Wang.
China Africa Sunlight was given the green light to start operations after obtaining an Environmental Impact Assessment EIA) from the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) in October.
The event was witnessed by Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander, General Constantine Chiwenga, Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Mechanisation Development Dr Joseph Made, Matabeleland North Governor Thokozile Mathuthu and her Bulawayo counterpart Cain Mathema, heads of Government departments, traditional leaders and scores of villagers.

Copper

  • Mhangura Copper Mine (Defunct and owned by ZMDC)
The Mhangura Copper Mine is located 190 km northwest of Harare and 60 km from Chinhoyi, where the Alaska smelter of Lomagundi Mining and Smelting Company is situated. It is served by the main road from Harare to the border with Zambia at Kariba and a tarred road of 46 km to Mhangura.
Extensive infrastructure facilities, including a secure power supply and plentiful water sources, which have been in place for many years, exist.

About 53 million tonnes at an average of 1% Cu were produced from a number of ore bodies over a forty-year period from 1957 to 2000. Initially production was from an open pit, but workings moved underground in the late 1950's.
Messina Transvaal Development Company opened and operated the mines until 1984, after which ZMDC mined until 2000. In the late 1980's production steadied at 1,1 million tonnes and 8 000 tonnes of copper in concentrate per annum, but during 1996 only 855 000 tonnes of ore were mined at a grade of 0,63% Cu to produce 5 000 tonnes of copper in concentrate.

Remaining proved and probable reserves are estimated at 7, 7 million tonnes at around 1% Cu.
However, the ore milled during the 1990’s has consistently been under 1% Cu, ranging from 0,66% to 0,94% Cu.
The absolute minimum to enable mine production to continue was estimated at US$ 4,2 million in 1997 and is probably at least twice that figure today due to neglect and deterioration of the shafts and the plant.

The ore metallurgy ar Mhangura is simple and high recoveries with high concentrate grades were achieved in the processing plant. The percentage recovery for the period 1993 to 1996, varied from 92,35% to 93,80% and it can safely be assumed that this efficiency was maintained throughout most of the operatiing lifetime of the mine. It is thus very unlikely, given the low grade of the ore, that the slimes dams contain a significant amount of copper.


Zimbabwe's diamond industry commenced with the discovery of alluvial diamonds in 1903 followed by the discovery of the first diamondiferous kimberlite pipe, Colossus, in 1907. There are more than eighty known kimberlite bodies in Zimbabwe, most discovered by Rio Tinto and De Beers. Zimbabwe's first diamond mine, River Ranch, commenced production in the early 1990's. 
The bulk of Zimbabwe's diamond production used to come  from Rio Tinto's Murowa diamond mine before the alluvial deposits at  Marange were exploited.. By mid-December 2006, around 10,000 illegal artisanal miners were working very small plots at Marange. From 2004 to 2007 Zimbabwe’s diamond exports increased by 2600 %.

 Year Exports (cts)  
     
2003 26,870 
2004 18,481
2005 261,538 
2006 264,585 
2007 489,170 
Source: Kimberley Process
Diamond News

 Zimbabwe: Govt Set to Acquire River Ranch Mine - Friday, March 02, 2012
  • RioZim owns 22 percent of Murowa diamond mine, while Rio Tinto, the former parent company, owns the remaining controlling stake. The mine saw 2006 production down to 240 026 carats from 251 000 carats of diamonds in 2005. RioZim told shareholders the fall was a result of a weaker surface ore body and worsening power cuts. RioZim said the diamond dip had been expected. Rio Tinto, which has been in Zimbabwe's mining sector for 50 years, has spent $100m expanding its Murowa Diamonds since the discovery of diamonds 14 years ago.
    The operation, which is 77,8% owned by Rio Tinto, is capable of producing 300,000 carats/year of diamonds.
  • De Beers prospecting, includes limited bulk sampling of new kimberlite discoveries in Zimbabwe, and joint venture partners include Cratonic Resources and Masasa Mines / Somabula Ventures.
  • SouthernEra had a joint venture agreement with Rockover Resources Limited over the Tsholotsho Diamond Project in Zimbabwe and involved in early stage exploration. The Tsholotsho Diamond Project is situated in western Zimbabwe and consists of 21 granted and a further 7 under application prospecting permits covering an area in excess of 14,000 km² underlain by basement Archaean granite-gneiss of the Kalahari Craton. The Botswana/Zimbabwe border forms the western boundary of the permit area. This project area is considered prospective for primary diamondiferous kimberlite deposits and lies within what is known as the Orapa Kimberlite Track, which is a southwest – northeast trending kimberlite emplacement corridor extending from Botswana into Zimbabwe.
  • African Consolidated Resources plc (ACR) said in March, 2007, that Zimbabwe's government has ignored a high court ruling to allow staff back on to the premises at the expropriated Marange diamond mine. Police guarding the mine have not let staff back on site. The government was to negotiate an agreement over the expropriaton, but had failed to do so. African Consolidated is thought to have lost up to $2m when diamonds it had produced and had on site were seized by the government and auctioned by Mineral Marketing of Zimbabwe. African Consolidated Resources announced a loss in revenues in excess of US$1 billion as a result of illegal extraction and trade activities following the company's expulsion from the Marange mine in Zimbabwe early in 2007.

Since ACR was expelled from Marange it is believed that more than 7,000 carats valued at approximately US$1 billion have been lost as a result of diamond smuggling which allegedly involves security forces, according to local news source The Financial Gazette (Harare).

Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC), which has started mining at Marange, has been criticized by Central Bank Governor, Gideon Gono for what are seemingly mechanized panning activities. Critics have stated that in order to derive a genuine benefit from diamond mining in Marange, ZMDC will have to employ a technical partner that has the appropriate equipment and technical knowledge.

The dispute over the ACR diamond claims against the government now involve Amos Midzi, Mines Minister; the Mineral Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe, the ZMDC, the Mining Commissioner and Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri.
It was reported that in 2012 the World Bank said Marange diamonds, believed to be accounting for 25% of the world’s diamonds, are cheaper to mine because they are alluvial. The bank said overall diamond production in Zimbabawe could reach 15,2 million carats a year by 2018. A local research firm Equity Communications said Zimbabwe accounted for 8,9% of global rough diamond production in 2011, producing 11,1 million carats out of 125,6 million carats produced globally.

Compannies active in the Marange area in September, 2013 were:
  • Anjin Investments 
  • Marange Resources
  • Mbada Diamonds
  • Diamond Mining Company (DMC).
Government, which in 2015 had 50% shareholding in diamond companies operating in Marange through the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, wants all diamond mining firms in the country to be merged into one entity, the Zimbabwe Consolidation Diamond Corporation, to plug leakages and enhance transparency. Seven mining companies operating in October 2015 in Chiadzwa were: 
  • Mbada, 
  • Anjin Investments, 
  • Diamond Mining Company, 
  • Gye Nyame, 
  • Jinan Mining, Kusena 
  • Marange Resources.
Fluorspar

  • Premier African MineralsLtd is investigating a 1,350-hectare area (9 Mineral Claim Blocks) centred on the dormant Tinde Fluorspar Mine, located in the northeast corner of the Kamativi Basement Complex Inlier and overlain to the north by gently north-dipping Karoo sediments. The mine reportedly produced 1,360 tonnes of fluorspar. The Basement complex hosts numerous mineralised vein systems, ranging from short, close spaced swarms to long, thin sinuous bodies up to 8 kilometres in length. The project site has been the subject of historical exploration. In 1970, Messina Rhodesia Ltd (MRD) estimated a non-compliant SAMREC conceptual Exploration Target for Vein 1 as: 54,000 tonnes comprising 34,000 tonnes of 33.3% CaF2 and 20,000 tonnes of 25-33.3% CaF2 at a depth of 15 metres. Preliminary flotation tests indicate that concentrates of up to 97.8% CaF2 are achievable. Premier intends, funds permitting, to drill a fence line of shallow boreholes (1,000m drilling) to confirm the continuity with depth of the better grade veins and test the inter-vein areas.


The Zimbabwe craton hosts more than 6,000 gold occurrences and over 790 recorded gold mines, most of which have some current or historic gold production.
Gold Home


Gold Projects in Zimbabwe

(Source: Trevor Pearton - Caledonia Mining Corporation-Abstract of paper Gold Day, Johannesburg, 13 April 2011

Zimbabwe is underlain for the most part by an Archean greenstone terrain known as the Zimbabwe Craton. Archean terrains worldwide are recognised for their gold potential and in this respect the Zimbabwe greenstones are no exception. Zimbabwe’s gold mining history in modern times goes back to the late 1800s when a wave of prospecting discoveries found gold in almost every corner of Zimbabwe’s ancient greenstone terrain. By the early 1900s some 6 000 occurrences had recorded production although only 290 of these would develop into mines with a production in excess of 10 000 oz (311 kg). Production has continued uninterrupted from that time until today. However, most of the “big” mines of yesteryear are dormant today, in some
cases unnecessarily. There is much revitalised interest in Zimbabwe gold particularly from junior miners who have not had previous exposure to Zimbabwe gold mining. These relatively new entrants, who quite rightly see the potential of the Zimbabwe Archean terrain, are often not aware of the depth of history that is the backdrop to the current mining scene.
Production in most greenstone terrains is dominated by a few large mines which have been able to weather the storms to achieve their full potential (e.g. Sheba Mine is 126 years old) while in Zimbabwe the grand old ladies such as Cam & Motor and Globe & Phoenix have closed down. It is probable that many of these mines closed prematurely since they had reached the limits of their development and required substantial capital input to expose their deeper potential and at that time this investment was considered too high a risk. Having been closed and flooded for many years, restarting these mines is a major challenge that can only be undertaken in a stable socio-economic environment. By way of example, recent deep drilling (1 500 – 2 000 m) in the Canadian Archean has yielded numerous high grade gold discoveries at depth.
Zimbabwe’s annual gold production peaked in 1999 at 28 000 kg and almost immediately started a rapid decline in line with the political upheavals that beset the country. Nine years later
production bottomed at 3 100 kg in 2008 when the economy collapsed and the Zimbabwe Reserve Bank stopped paying mines for gold deliveries. Following the establishment of a Government of National Unity and the granting of permissions for mines to export their gold for refining and sale, the production has started to climb rapidly again. The estimated production for 2010 is 8 000 kg and so far this year production appears set to increase by 30% to 40%. The main gold producers are Caledonia (Blanket Mine), Metallon (How, Mazowe, Shamva, Arcturus, Redwing), Rio Tonto (Renco), Mwana Africa (Freda Rebecca), Duration Gold (Vubachikwe), and New Dawn (Falcon, Olympus, Dalny, Turk, Old Nic). All these operations are in a build up phase and therefore production statistics are fluid. In addition to the above, the Gold Miners Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) with a membership of 3 000 holds 67% of known gold claims but much of the production is likely to be unofficial.
All Zimbabwe gold mines require significant capital inputs, way beyond that which can be sourced locally in Zimbabwe. Funding therefore has to be sourced from external capital providers in order to sustain or grow production from current levels. Attempts to restart the Zimbabwe economy have seen government placing an increasing burden on the mining industry, e.g. three hikes in the royalty rate in one year. The recent announcements regarding “indigenisation” of the mining industry shows the extent to which government is ignoring economic fundamentals in an attempt to capture all sources of revenue. While the regulations published on 25 March 2011 are, by all opinions, clearly invalid, all sources of foreign investment capital have dried up instantly. The country is once again at a cross road. Will it this time make the wise decision and foster growth by inviting capital into the country or will it once again ‘eat its seed grain’?
The western world to some extent provides ammunition for governments like Zimbabwe to lobby their own cause. For example, the majority of citizens do not understand accounting terminology (GAAP) and hence government officials are able to present a picture that gives the impression of “theft” of resources and revenues by foreign mining companies. It is essential that mining companies establish a platform for clear communication with communities so that the benefits and disadvantages of mining can be made clear to all.

 Geological references:
  • Blenkinsop T G, Oberthur T, Mapeto O  2000 - Gold mineralization in the Mazowe area, Harare-Bindura-Shamva greenstone belt, Zimbabwe: I. Tectonic controls on mineralization: in    Mineralium Deposita   v35 pp 126-137
  • Foster R P, Mann A G, Stowe C W, Wilson J F  1986 - Archaean gold mineralization in Zimbabwe (Full paper): in Anhaeusser C R, Maske S, (Eds.), 1986 Mineral Deposits of South Africa Geol. Soc. South Africa, Johannesburg   v1 pp 43-112
  • Klemm D D, Krautner H G  2000 - Hydrothermal alteration and associated mineralization in the Freda-Rebecca gold deposit - Bindura District, Zimbabwe: in    Mineralium Deposita   v35 pp 90-108
  • Oberthur T, Blenkinsop T G, Hein U F, Hoppner M, Hohndorf A, Weiser T W  2000 - Gold mineralization in the Mazowe area, Harare-Bindura-Shamva greenstone belt, Zimbabwe: II. Genetic relationships deduced from mineralogical, fluid inclusion and stable isotope studies, and the Sm-Nd isotopic composition of scheelites: in    Mineralium Deposita   v35 pp 138-156
Gold News
Zimbabwe: New Dawn Warns of More Mine Closures
8 September 2013

TORONTO Stock Exchange-listed New Dawn says it might be forced to close its mining operations in Zimbabwe as a result of a fall in gold prices and its failure to obtain approval on an indigenisation plan.

The warning comes after the junior gold mining company, shut down Dalny Mine in Kadoma which employs 900 workers.

Besides Dalny, New Dawn runs Turk-Angelus Mine, Old Nic Mine, Camperdown Mine, Golden Quarry Mine and Venice Mine.

In a notice to stakeholders, New Dawn said the fall in gold prices resulted in serious liquidity challenges with the power utility threatening to switch off operations.

"... the risk exists that the company may have to take actions more severe than steps taken so far or currently envisaged, including the temporary or permanent closure of the company's other mining operations," New Dawn said.

"... the company is currently unable to predict the consequences of an ability to conclude or implement an acceptable plan of indigenisation with government authorities with which engagement will continue."

The company said a major underlying factor contributing to the Dalny Mine's current difficulties had been the more than two year delay in the still incomplete approval process for the company's proposed Plan of Indigenisation.

"A timely approval of the plan of indigenisation had been expected to provide the company with access to sufficient investment capital to fully fund the development of a cost-efficient operation at the Dalny Mine," New Dawn said.

"After years of underdevelopment, had an investment programme in the Dalny Mine been implemented and completed as originally anticipated, the mine would have been positioned to maintain profitable operations in today's environment of lower gold prices and increasing costs."

It said the Zimbabwean subsidiaries were facing negative working capital position and an increasingly difficult legislative, regulatory and economic environment in Zimbabwe.

New Dawn said there was heightened uncertainty surrounding the implementation of the indigenisation policy in Zimbabwe subsequent to the July 31 harmonised elections, with the potential for an increasingly negative effect on the company and its stakeholders. "The evolving policy on indigenisation now appears to be focussing on seizing 51% controlling interests in foreign controlled mines with compensation deemed to be the value of the minerals in the ground," New Dawn said.

Under the empowerment legislation, at least 51% shareholding in businesses with a net asset value of US$500 000 or more should be in the hands of locals.

Gold deposits in Zimbabwe (Source: Southern African Development Community, Mineral Resources Survey Programme No 4, 2001)

The gold-mining industry is possibly the oldest mining industry in the SADC region. Gold deposits in Zimbabwe were worked for centuries before the arrival of the European settlers in the second half of the 1800s, and the bulk of the country's production during the 20th century has been based on mines working deposits originally discovered by the early miners In 1997, Zimbabwe's total recorded gold production since the arrival of the Europeans was nearly 2 400 t (77 Moz).
Gold production levels in 1996 were above 25 t, making Zimbabwe one of the ten largest producers of gold in the world. The majority of gold deposits in Zimbabwe occur in greenstones of the Bulawayan Group. Lately, about 25 per cent of Zimbabwe's gold production has been derived from panning operations. The Small Scale Miners Association has more than 5 000 members and employs up to 100 000 people on an irregular basis.
This report will not attempt to list all of the approximately 6 000 gold deposits in Zimbabwe, but will be restricted to currently producing mines and deposits which have yielded more than 1 000 kg Au in the past. For further details the reader is referred to Bartholomew (1992) and Foster (1989).

Stratigraphy and general geology

Approximately 98 per cent of Zimbabwe's gold has been derived from the Archaean craton which occupies the central and eastern part of the country. Three major sequences of supracrustal rocks have been recognised (Foster, 1989):
1. The Sebakwian Group of komatiitic and basaltic volcanics, banded iron formation and minor clastic sed-iments laid, down on ancient sialic crust;
2.  Basalts, high Mg basalts, felsic volcanics and mixed chemical and clastic sediments of the Lower Bulawayan Group; and
3. The extensive Upper Bulawayan and Shamvaian Groups comprising a sedimentary—>komatiitic—> tholeiitic—>calc-alkaline succession.
Gold occurs within all three of these sequences.
Two late Archaean granitoid events are evident:
1. The earlier (ca. 2,7-2,6 Ga) Sesombi Suite of trond-hjemite-tonalite-granodiorite which forms small (2-30 km) plutons that intrude the greenstone belts;
2. A slightly later (ca. 2,6 Ga) Chilimanzi Suite of granites which partly intruded the greenstone belts, but primarily stabilised much of the central and eastern part of the craton.
At the southern limit of the craton, the complex Cu-Au-Bi-Te mineralisation of the Renco Mine is hosted by granulites of the Limpopo Mobile Belt. Small deposits have also been mined within Palaeoproterozoic rocks of northern Zimbabwe, but their contribution to the total gold output, together with that from Tertiary and Recent alluvial operations, has been very small.

Gold mineralisation

Three major types of gold deposits can be identified:
1. Lode deposits (veins and ductile shear zones)
2. Banded iron-formation-hosted deposits
3. Volcaniclastic-hosted deposits

The three deposit types have yielded gold in Zimbabwe in the following percentages (Foster, 1989): lode 82 per cent, banded iron formation 13 per cent and volcaniclastics almost 5 per cent.
Lode deposits range in morphology from large tabular quartz veins, through quartz-cemented breccias, to sulphide impregnations in schistose zones. Vein-type lodes range in thickness from a few centimetres up to 20 m. Quartz is the most common gangue mineral. Carbonate minerals are usually minor, but integral, components of the veins, mostly occurring as calcite where isolated from the wall rocks. Individual lode deposits rarely extend along strike for more than 1-2 km. The Dalny group of ore bodies is one exception, extending intermittently over a strike length of 7 km. Sulphide minerals are a minor component (1-4 wt per cent) of the quartz veins, but are proportionally more abundant in the ductile shear zones.
Pyrite is the dominant sulphide phase. Gold as coarse grains of the native metal within fractures in the vein quartz, as disseminated grains in the quartz and partially intergrown with the sulphide minerals.
Banded iron formation is common throughout the Archaean volcanosedimentary sequences of Zimbabwe, with the exception of the Shamvian Group and the calc-alkaline unit of the Upper Bulawayan Group. The iron formations range from mesobanded magnetite-chert units, through carbonate and silica-rich varieties, to laminated sulphide argillite units. The style of mineralisation ranges from sulphidisation of magnetite bands adjacent to quartz veins, to complex shear-zone arrays of quartz veins, to extensive brecciation.
A small number of Archaean deposits in Zimbabwe comprise gold-pyrite-base-metal mineralisation, disseminated in felsic sediments of volcanogenic origin. This type of mineralisation is confined to calc-alkaline volcanogenic sequences of the Shamvaian Group.

Midlands Greenstone Belt
This greenstone belt is in central Zimbabwe and extends north from Shurugwi to Chegutu.
  • Cam and Motor Mine Ownership in 2001:  Rio Tinto Zimbabwe Ltd 100 per cent Cam and Motor, located about 10 km east-northeast of Kadoma, was Zimbabwe's largest gold producer (more than 155,5 t gold). Mining began in the 1890s. Numerous lodes were mined from two groups: Cam and Motor. Steeply dipping quartz veins occur along the con¬tact of basaltic flows and a metasedimentary sequence of arkose, conglomerate and graphitic slates (Elevatorski, 1995). Mineralisation is controlled by a shear zone. Mining reached a depth of 2 000 m. Quartz lodes contain significant stibnite, arsenopyrite and iron pyrites. The mine is no longer in production, but dump retreatment is done by Rio Tinto Zimbabwe.
  • Globe and Phoenix Mine Ownership in 2001: Delta Gold Ltd 100 per cent. The Globe and Phoenix Mine, the second largest historical gold producer in Zimbabwe, operated from 1894-1977 and production was 123 931 kg (Bartholomew, 1992) of gold from vein-type ores, averaging 27,6 g/t. There are two reefs on this mine, the Globe Reef (strike 125°, dip 47° northeast) and the main Phoenix Reef (strike 015°, dip 50° east). The gold-bearing quartz veins of the reefs are in shears and hosted in carbonatised ultramafics at the contact with Archaean gneiss. Prior to closure in 1977, the main ore bodies were mined to a depth of 1 460 m. Ores were of auriferous quartz with considerable stibnite and small amounts of pyrite, arsenopyrite, galena, sphalerite, tetrahedrite and gersdorffite.
  • Collision Mine. Ownership:in 2001:Consolidated African Mining Corporation 100 per cent. Historically, the area (formerly known as Golden Ridge) was divided into five mining claims which Consolidated African Mining and its predecessors consolidated. Active mining started in 1929 and continued at four main operations until 1960; and since then only intermittent, small-scale mining has occurred. The mine produced 1,1 Mt of ore, grading 2,5 g/t Au. Gold mineralisation is within brecciated shear or shatter zones up to 4 m wide, which are parallel or subparallel to the Munyati Shear. The zones are near vertical, dipping steeply to the north-northwest or south-southeast and form discrete bodies of either silicified banded iron for¬mation which has been shot through with quartz blebs and veins, or soft, gossanous iron formation (Resource Information Unit, 1999). In mid-1998, reserves at the Collision property were confined to the tailings dumps and a small area of primary ore located at the western end of the old workings. The tailings amounted to a total of 754 000 t containing 902 kg Au. Consolidated African Mining estimated a potential for over 77,7 t Au mineable by open-cut and deeper bulk-underground mining (Resource Information Unit, 1999).
  • lndarama Mine Ownership in 2001: Trillion Resources Ltd 100 per cent. Trillion Resources acquired the Indarama Mine, 12 km north of Kwekwe, in 1998 from Pan African Mining which had a recorded production from quartz-carbonate-stibnite veins of more than 21,7 t Au and 1 592 t of stibnite. Narrow veins in metabasalt dip between 20° and 45°. Indarama produces 466,5 kg Au annually, but Trillion plans an initial expansion in production to 933 kg per annum and then to 2 488 kg per year. Reserves are reported to be 13,4 Mt of ore, grading 3,3 g/t Au.
  • Dalny Mine Ownership in 2001: Falcon Gold Zimbabwe Ltd 100 per cent Mining began on ancient workings in 1892. The Dalny Mine is located about 45 km north of Kadoma. From ores grading 7,8 g/t Au, 53 358,09 kg were recovered. The reef comprises a series of attenuated lenses and ribbons of quartz in a shear zone, 1,3-10 m wide, striking north¬east and dipping 67° (Resource Information Unit, 1999). Host rocks are carbonated greenstones of the Bulawayan Group. Associated minerals include pyrite, arsenopyrite, scheelite, chalcopyrite and sphalerite. Sericitisation and carbonatisation are intense adjacent to the veins. Falcon Gold closed the Dalny Mine in February 1998 because of the poor gold price and rising operating costs, but treatment of the ore dump is continuing.
  • Wanderer Mine. The Wanderer Mine operated from 1899-1952 and, from ores averaging 4,1 g/t Au, cumulative production was 36 474 kg. It was the first gold mine in Zimbabwe to work low-grade ore on a large scale. Ten ore bodies, with a very shallow dip, occur in a banded iron formation (Elevatorski, 1995), with an average thickness of approximately 100 m, in contact with conglomerates. Although some of the ores contain free gold, the majority of the gold is contained in pyrite. To date, this has been the largest banded iron formation gold deposit to be mined in Zimbabwe.
  • Golden Valley Mine. Production commenced in 1903. The Golden Valley reef strikes 010° and dips between 30° and 35° to the west. It has been traced for about 1 524 m. Massive quartz veins and pyritic gold veins occur along the contact of mafic basalt with schists that are intruded by granite (Elevatorski, 1995). Ores averaged 22,3 g/t Au and yielded 31 056,57 kg. About 463 t of scheelite were also produced.
  • Connemara Mine. Ownership: First Quantum Minerals Ltd 95 per cent This opencast mine is situated at the eastern edge of the Midlands Greenstone Belt. Recorded production began in the 1890s and about 16,6 t Au were recovered. Between 1945 and 1969 it was Zimbabwe's largest gold mine. Mineralisation is closely associated with brecciat­ed zones in banded iron formation of the Redcliff Jaspilite Formation. Mineralisation includes pyrite, pyrrhotite and stibnite. At deeper levels, dolerite intru­sions are common. The main ore body was up to 20 m thick, extending over a 3 500-m length (Elevatorski, 1995). Shearing controls the mineralisation. The mine was re-opened in 1995 by International Ballater Resources to process heap-leachable ores from a number of open cuts. First Quantum Minerals acquired the mine in December 1997. The most recent resource estimation is 15,8 t Au (509 000 oz) contained within 6,5 Mt grad­ing at 2,43 g/t (African Mining, 1999c).
  • Gaika Mine. Mining began in the 1890s and 22 234 kg Au has been recovered. The deposit is located about 1 km south of Kwekwe. Gold-bearing veins and stockworks occur in shears of altered carbonatised ultramafics, largely of tal­cose schist (Elevatorski, 1995). Most of the ores are in close proximity to a pyritic carbonated porphyrite. Sulphide minerals present include pyrrhotite, stibnite, chalcostibite and jamesonite.
  • Chaka Mine. Ownership in 2001: Delta Gold Ltd 100 per cent. The Chaka trail Mine is one of Delta Gold's projects in Zimbabwe being established to test-mine a small high- grade resource located just over 5 km from the Globe and Phoenix mining area. Gold occurs in a banded iron formation near the bottom of the Shamvaian Group, and the ore has been subjected to supergene enrichment in the weathered zone which extends to a depth of 60 m (Mining in Southern Africa, 1997d). The ore body has an inferred resource of 6,8 Mt, at an average grade of 3,2 g/t Au (Mining in Southern africa, 1999b).
  • Tebekwe Mine. Ownership in 2001: Ngezi Mining Company. Also known as the Old Stuff Mine, it was first worked in the late 1890s. From ores averaging 9,8 g/t Au, recorded production was 19 966 kg. Quartz veins in a series of subparallel north—south fissures, dipping 70° to the west (Bartholomew, 1992), are hosted in arkose and grits of the Wanderer Formation, intruded by granite. Ngezi Mining Company is currently operating Tebekwe.
  • Giant Mine. Most of the gold recovery at this mine was during the 1910s and 1920s. Recorded production was 17 474 kg from ores grading 8,2 g/t Au. The ore body is a north—south-striking banded iron formation with interbedded chloritic schist and sulphide-rich layers up to 5 mm thick.
  • Sherwood Star Mine. From sulphide ores grading 8,0 g/t Au, 14 942 kg have been recovered. The ore body, located 13 km north of Kwekwe, is a breccia pipe in jaspilite, mined to a depth of 600 m along a strike of 20-55 m. The plunge of the pipe was vertical to a depth of 330 m, below which it varied between vertical and 50° northeast. The ore con¬sisted of banded red jasper, brecciated and veined by quartz and carbonate, and permeated by pyrite and arsenopyrite, and disseminated irregularly through the whole rock (Foster et al., 1986).
  • Pickstone Mine. Mineralisation occurs as sulphide-replacement bodies in a banded iron formation hosted in an east—west-trending shear zone in greenstones (Bartholomew, 1992). Cumulative production was 11 703 kg. Ores averaged 6,4 g/t Au.
  • Kanyemba Mine. The ore body consists of a folded quartz reef, striking about 135°, on the crest of a southwest-plunging anticline in chloritic schists. Average width of the vein is 0,45 m. Reported production is 7 623 kg, grading 16,3 g/t Au.
  • Eiffel Blue Mine. A quartz-filled fissure, striking north—south and dipping 70° to the west, occurs in a large lens of metasediments in greenstones (Bartholomew, 1992). The vein is about 0,6 m wide and contains pyrite and arsenopyrite. From ore with an average recovery grade of 16,1 g/t Au, 7 156 kg were produced.
  • Jena Mines. Ownership: Trillion Resources Ltd 50 per cent Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation 50 per cent. Six past producers (Leopard, Lion, Python, Hornet, Octopus and Unicorn) and three current producers (Leopardess-Lioness, Stump and Termite) constitute the known gold deposits on the Jena mining lease. The mines were operated by a number of private companies until 1981, when the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation consolidated the properties into Jena Mines. It sold a 50 per cent interest in the project to Trillion Resources in 1992. Trillion became operator and increased production from 75 000 t/a to 180 000 t/a in 1996 (Resource Information Unit, 1999), making the mine profitable. In 1998 plans were underway to further increase mine production and mill capacities. Host rocks are mafic basalt, gabbro, agglomerates and tuff of the Maliyami Formation intruded by rhyolite dykes (Elevatorski, 1995). Gold is contained in sulfides. Mineable reserves are 1,73 M t, grading 4,11 g/t Au.
  • Camperdown Mine. Camperdown produced 5 997 kg Au. Ores are hosted in a banded iron formation which achieves a thickness of 700 m and is folded into an open antiform (Bartholomew, 1992). High-grade gold values are found in vertical quartz stringers cutting the banded iron formation.
  • Bell Riverlea Mine. Ownership in 2001: Delta Gold Ltd 100 per cent. At Bell Riverlea, located 8 km west of Kwekwe, the structurally controlled ore body dips 57° to the north and strikes east obliquely across the host conglomerates (Resource Information Unit, 1999). Most of the production came from the Bell section of the mine, a breccia of conglomerate fragments in a soft chlorite schist veined by quartz containing disseminated sulphide. The sulphides present are pyrite, arsenopyrite, stibnite, jamesonite and tetrahedrite. A resource of 1,5 Mt, grading 3,7 g/t Au, is reported (Resource Information Unit, 1999).
  • Surprise Mine. Sulphide-free ores were mined mostly in the early 1900s, and about 5 287 kg were recovered, averaging 11,4 g/t Au. Gold is contained in quartz veins, striking north—south and dipping steeply to the east, in a shear zone hosted in gneiss and granitic host rocks.
  • Eileen Alannah Mine. The ore body is a long east-southeast-striking carbonated shear zone in basaltic greenstones. Mineralisation is mainly in the form of discontinuous sulphide replacement, but a few gold-bearing quartz veins also occur. Cumulative production is reported to be 4 646 kg, grading 8,8 g/t Au.
  • Venice Mine. Ownership in 2001: Falcon Gold Zimbabwe Ltd 100 per cent The deposit is found in a shear zone striking east-north¬east and dipping between 30° and 40° to the south. Reported gold production was 4 443 kg, grading 5,7 g/t Au. Steeply dipping quartz veins containing finely disseminated pyrite and arsenopyrite occur in a tholeiitic basalt of the Upper Bulawayan Group (Elevatorski, 1995). Stibnite and scheelite also occur.
  • Invincible Mine. About 4 322 kg Au were recovered from a quartz vein striking 150° and dipping 40° to the southwest (Bartholo¬mew, 1992), hosted in a shear zone. Host rocks are felsic tuffs and conglomerates of the Shamvaian Group. The vein is heavily mineralised with pyrite and galena.
  • Bonsor Mine. Two quartz reefs in an en echelon relationship, striking north—south and dipping steeply to the east, are hosted in altered and carbonated arkose and greywacke (Bartholomew, 1992). Reported production is 4 025 kg, grading 9,0 g/t Au.
  • Turkoise Mine. From a shear zone in mafic lavas of the Upper Bulawayan Group, 2 946 kg Au were recovered, grading at 12,1 g/t. Mineralisation includes pyrite, arsenopyrite and chalcopyrite.
  • Seigneury Mine. Quartz reefs along the contact of granite with epidiorite have yielded 2 520 kg Au, grading 7,1 g/t (Bartholo­mew, 1992). Mineralisation includes galena, chalcopy­rite, molybdenite and arsenopyrite.
  • Veracity Mine. The ore body is a quartz vein, striking northeast and dip­ping steeply northwest, and has yielded 2 400 kg Au with average recovery grade of 10,4 g/t (Bartholomew, 1992). Country rocks are greenstones and banded iron formation. Main production is from the section where the vein cuts the banded iron formation.
  • Dunraven Mine. Ownership in 2001: Consolidated African Mining Corporation option to acquire 100 per cent. The Dunraven Mine was operated intermittently from 1897-1953, producing 2 124 kg Au, and was developed to 90 m below surface during this period. Gold occurs in iron-stained quartz veins, striking east-northeast, with minor pyrite and arsenopyrite. Host rocks are siltstone and phyllite. Trenching done by Consolidated African Mining in 1998 indicated continuity of gold mineralisa­tion along strike, over a length of 350 m.
  • Anzac Mine. The mine had an accumulated production of 2 048 kg Au grading at 5 g/t, to the end of 1984. The main reef of this deposit is a fissure, striking east—west and dipping 24°, in a host of carbonated greenstones (Resource Informa­tion Unit, 1999). A secondary reef of north—south-strik­ing shears, dips east at low angles. A later generation of stibnite-carbonate veins is present in some areas. The major sulfide minerals present are pyrite, arsenopyrite, loellingite and stibnite. The Anzac Mine has also pro­duced 973 t of stibnite.
  • Csardas Mine. A series of parallel east-northeast-striking quartz veins and stringers with an arcuate trend, concave to the south, and dipping 80° to the north, yielded 2 021 kg Au, with an average recovery grade of 30,0 g/t (Bartholomew, 1992). Host rocks are sheared gritty conglomerates, sed­imentary and basaltic greenstone schist.
  • Bay Horse Mine. Most of the reported 1 935 kg Au produced was from a quartz vein, dipping between 40° and 50° to the north, and hosted in greenstones, banded iron formation and other sediments contorted by minor folds and cut by north—south faults.
  • Regent Mine.. The ore body is a faulted quartz vein, with a curved north-northwest strike, hosted in greenstones intruded by granitic prophyritic bodies (Bartholomew, 1992). North of the fault the reef dips between 30° and 45° to the east, while south of the fault it dips between 60° and 80° to the east. About 1 663 kg Au has been recovered.
  • Glencairn Mine. Gold production of 1 615 kg has come from two north¬east-striking, flatly northwest-dipping quartz veins fill¬ing thrust zones in greenstones with minor sedimentary intercalations (Bartholomew, 1992).
  • Concession Hill. The reef is a cherty band striking east—west in banded iron formation, much veined with quartz stringers and calcite (Bartholomew, 1992). The majority of gold is contained within the quartz veins, with some in miner­alised parts of the country rock. Production amounted to almost 1 603 kg, grading 7,5 g/t Au.
  • Turtle Mine. The ore body comprises a quartz vein, striking north- northeast and dipping between 10° and 45° to the east, hosted in greenstone and agglomerate. Reported produc­tion is 1 499 kg, with average recovery grade of 6,4 g/t Au (Bartholomew, 1992).
  • Tiger Reef Mine. At the Tiger Reef ore body, 10 km northwest of Kwekwe, disseminated gold occurs in a feldspathic greywacke of the Shamvaian Group near a contact with granite. Ore minerals are pyrite, arsenopyrite, sphalerite, minor chalcopyrite and some free gold. The ore body, striking northeast, has an average width of 6 m (Foster et al., 1986) and an average gold content of 3,4 g/t. About 1 181 kg Au were recovered
  • Washington Mine. The deposit comprised two subvertical quartz veins, striking north-northeast, on the margin of a highly sheared and brecciated zone enclosed by granite and greenstone country rocks. The gold distribution was very erratic, with occasional extremely rich pockets (Resource Information Unit, 1999). An accumulated gold-production figure of 1 600 kg, grading at 21,7 g/t was reported. Falcon Gold Zimbabwe relinquished its interest in the property in 1995.
  • Butterfly Mine. The ore body consists of a quartz vein dipping steeply southeast along a contact of granite and epidiorite. Sul­phide minerals present are pyrite, galena and scheelite. Reported gold production is 1 314 kg, grading at 12,3 g/t.
  • B.D. Mine. A quartz-stibnite vein, striking about 075° and dipping 65° to the north, occurs in carbonated greenstones, and yielded about 1 299 kg Au and 500 t of stibnite (Bartho­lomew, 1992).
  • Beehive Mine. African Gold bought the operation in 1996 and started production at Beehive in September 1997. The area is characterised by an east—west-striking mineralised shear zone dipping about 30° south and passing from hydrothermally altered tonalite into greenstones. Two mineralised north—south-striking banded iron-formation horizons are also present. Mineralisation includes arsenopyrite, pyrite and stibnite.
  • Brilliant Mine. Quartz veins in greenstones, with an average recovery grade of 20,6 g/t, yielded about 1 125 kg Au (Bartholo­mew, 1992). The main reef strikes 40° and dips 70° to the west.
  • Masterpiece Mine. About 1 061 kg Au were recovered from two quartz reefs. Most of the production came from the Old Master-piece Reef, a lenticular quartz shoot striking east—west and dipping steeply north (Bartholomew, 1992). The New Masterpiece Reef is an irregular shoot striking north and dipping between 30° and 40° to the west.
  • Commoner Mine, Commoner Mine, 50 km west-southwest of Kadoma, was re-opened in 1990 after being intermittently worked since the 1900s. The ore body is a shallow-dipping quartz-cal­cite vein, hosted in tuff and carbonaceous siltstone of the Upper Bulawayan Group. Shears, fractures and faulting control the mineralisation. Ore mineralogy is dominated by tetrahedrite which carries native gold and hessite, together with galena, chalcopyrite, pyrite, arsenopyrite, sphalerite and minor amounts of chalcostibite.
  • Patchway Mine. Ownership in 2001: Rio Tonto Zimbabwe Ltd 100 per cent The main quartz reef at this underground mine strikes north—south, and dips between 30° and 35° to the west. The deposit is closely associated with a felsic dyke in greenstones. Sulphide minerals present include pyrite, pyrrhotite, sphalerite, galena and scheelite.
  • Elvington Mine. Zimbabwe Mining and Development Corporation re­opened the mine in 1991. It is located about 12 km northwest of Gadzema. Former production was 565 kg Au. Mineralisation occurs in a 3-m-wide shear zone of an oxide-facies banded iron-formation unit intercalated with biotite-chlorite schist (Elevatorski, 1995). Most of the gold is contained in pyrrhotite, although some gold is visible in quartz.
  • Step Lively Mine. The ore body at this old underground mine lies along an intrusion of schist just within the margin of the granite and close to its contact with sediments. It comprises a quartz reef striking approximately northwest, parallel to the granite sediment contact. The mine first produced in 1936 and was worked until 1951, yielding an average of 8 g/t Au from 60 000 t of ore. Since that time it changed hands several times and continued to operate on a small scale. Trillion Resources obtained the option to purchase the mine in 1977. After an intensive drilling programme, Trillion decided not to exercise the option and by mid- 1998 had no remaining interest in the property.
  • Oceana Mine. Ownership in 2001: Amalia Gold Mining & Exploration Company Ltd 100 per cent. Quartz veins, striking east-northeast and dipping 70° northwest, occur in recrystallised arkosic grits and granite dykes of the Archaean Mont d'Or Granite (Resource Information Unit, 1999). Mineralisation includes pyrite, galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite and molybdenite. The future of the mine was in doubt in late 1998, as Amalia Gold had been liquidated and was undergoing complete restructuring.
  • Pompeii Mine. Ownership in 2001: Amalia Gold Mining & Exploration Company Ltd 100 per cent. The reef consists of small glassy quartz lenses in a narrow, silicified, ferruginous quartzite body in sericitic quartzite and greenstone (Resource Information Unit, 1999). Quartz lenses are in tensional fissures developed along fold crests. Lenses elongated northeast along plunge of fold axes are also present. Mineralisation includes pyrite and pyrrhotite. In late 1998 Amalia Gold was liquidated and the future of the mine was in doubt. Ores averaged 13,0 g/t Au.
  • What Cheer Mine. Native gold and disseminated sulfides occur in quartz carbonate shears and breccias. Host rocks are andesite and felsic agglomerate. Sulphides present are arsenopy¬rite, pyrite and galena. Ore grade averaged 7,2 g/t Au.
  • Yankee Doodle Mine, A heavily mineralised quartz vein occupies a faulted, irregular fissure, striking on average 070° and dipping steeply to the south (Bartholomew, 1992). Host rocks are fine-grained arkoses.
Bubi Greenstone Belt

The Bubi Greenstone Belt is situated about 70 km north of Bulawayo and most of the gold deposits within this belt are in mafic basalt.

  • Lonely Mine. Ownership in 2001: Casmyn Corporation 100 per cent When the mine was closed in 1947, it had produced a total of 36,7 t Au, at an average grade of 15,8 g/t. Mineralisation is hosted in a quartz reef, striking north—south and dipping 60-80° to the east, and consists of both pyritic gold and native gold alloyed with silver, closely associated with chalcopyrite. Host rocks are mafic basalts. Casmyn Mining retreated dump material at a rate of 1 500 t/d, producing 13 kg Au per month in 2001. (Mining in Southern Africa, 1998b).

  • Turk Mine. Ownership in 2001: Casmyn Corporation 100 per cent. Ore bodies up to 20 m thick, were mined in the past, producing 12,62 t Au at an average grade of 4,2 g/t. The Turk Mine is located 25 km south of Lonely Mine. Mining reached a depth of 800 m below surface. Casmyn Mining re-opened the Turk Mine and in 1996 poured its first gold from this mine Gold production averages 60 kg/m (Mining in Southern Africa, 1998b). In 1998 proven and probable accessible resources were 10 t of ore at 5,07 g/t Au, and proven and probable resources from the dumps were 2 056 t at 1,08 g/t Au (Resource Information Unit, 1999). The gold deposit at the Turk Mine is situated in a sequence of highly sheared and recrystallised metabasalt several hundered metres thick (Dziggel et al., 1998). Gold occurs as inclusions in pyrite within quartz veins and stringers. Chloritisation and carbonatisation can be observed on a regional scale, while sericitisation is restricted to local structures with¬in the highly deformed metabasalts. A new ore body (Eli Khulu) has been found at the Turk Mine. It has an aver¬age width of 10-15 m and has been defined over a length of 150 m. This open-pittable ore body has a 184 000-t reserve at 2,89 g/t Au.

  • Queens Group Mines. Mining began in 1896 at the site of ancient workings. The Queens Group, located 30 km northeast of Bulawayo, included three mines. the Barberton, Czarina and Dawn. A quartz vein, striking northeast and dipping 82° northwest, occurs in a well-defined fissure within hornblendic carbonated greenstone. Associated minerals include pyrite, minor galena and sphalerite. The deposits yielded 10,6 t Au (Resource Information Unit, 1999) at an average grade of 14,9 g/t.
  • B 8 S (Motapa) Mine. Ownership in 2001: AngloGold Ltd 100 per cent. The brecciated ore zone, cemented by quartz and impregnated by sulphides, is S-shaped in plan and the main ore shoots are associated with the shallowly dipping, north¬east-striking short limb. Host rock is greenstone. Production was about 9 467 kg from ores grading 4,3 g/t Au (Bartholomew, 1992). Some arsenic was also produced. Anglo American recently purchased these claims.
  • Sunace Mine. The reef comprises multiple quartz veins in a thrust zone that dips at shallow angles (typically 15-20°) to the south (Pitfield and Campbell, 1996). Mineralisation varies from replacement-style stringers to substantial shear veins that are parallel or slightly oblique to the shear zone. Host rocks are mafic basalts. Recorded production from ores grading 12,9 g/t Au was 8 155 kg (Bartholomew, 1992). In addition, 0,97 t of scheelite were produced.
  • Isabella (Calcite) Mine. Ownership in 2001: AngloGold Ltd 100 per cent. The Isabella Mine, located 80 km north of Bulawayo, started production in 1989. This opencast heap-leach operation is operated by Anglo American. Mineralised zones are in silicified shears of felsic schist in contact with mafic greenstone and phyllitic sediments (Elevatorski, 1995). Oxidised ores extend to a depth of approximately 25 m. Pyrite and arsenopyrite are the dominant sulfide minerals. Reserves are estimated at 700 000 t, grading 2,2 g/t Au. In 1998 it was producing at full capacity: 622 kg per annum (Resource Information Unit, 1999).
  • MacCay Mine. Ownership in 2001: AngloGold Ltd 100 per cent. Anglo American opened the new MacCay Mine in August 1999. It is expected to produce 373 kg (12 000 oz) per year (Mining in Southern Africa, 1999e).
  • Bubi Mine.  Ownership in 2001: AngloGold Ltd 100 per cent. Anglo American opened the opencast Bibi Mine in mid- 1998. Gold is hosted in a shear zone. It is a low-grade deposit, averaging only 1 g/t from the oxide ore and less than 3 g/t from the more costly refractory sulphides. Mine life has been put at between two and three years, while the oxide ores are being processed, but should mining be extended to the sulfide ores, which are amenable to heap leaching, the mine's life could be extended by a further two years (Mining Mirror, 1998).
  • Charliesona Mine. The Charliesona Mine had produced 1,49 t Au up to 1992. The four main ore bodies form an en echelon array within a well-defined, 70-m-wide, easterly dipping shear zone of intense carbonatisation (Pitfield and Campbell, 1996), striking north—south.
  • Durban Mine. Most of the Durban Mine's production (1,47 t Au) has been derived from the near-vertical, northeast to east-northeast-striking Durban Reef. This reef, and subparallel reefs in the general vicinity, dip to the north-northwest on surface, and to the south-southeast with increasing depth. Host rocks are arkosic sandstone and greywacke.
  • Morven Mine. Gold mineralisation is contained in lenticular quartz veins striking 095°, with steep dips to both the north and south. Host rocks are epidiorite. The principal sul¬phide mineral is pyrite. Total production is reported to be 1 421 kg with an average recovery grade of 16,7 g/t Au (Bartholomew, 1992).
  • Cecil Mine. The Cecil Mine exploited quartz-hosted gold from two subparallel, northeast-striking, northwest-dipping (60°) shear zones that converge at depth. Host rocks are graphitic schist. A cumulative production of 1 207 kg Au has been recorded with an average recovery rate of 7,9 g/t.

    Chipuriro Greenstone Belt

    The Chipuriro Belt is near Chinhoyi in north- central Zimbabwe. One of the oldest mines in the coun¬try, Eldorado, occurs in this greenstone belt.
    • Eureka Mine. Ownership in 2001: Delta Gold Ltd 100 per cent. Delta Gold's Eureka Mine produced its first gold on 6 June 1999 (Mining in Southern Africa, 1999c). The Eureka gold project is located on the site of an old under-ground mine 150 km north of Harare. Delta began exploring the property in January 1996 and completed a feasibility study in April 1998. Construction began in August 1998. At full production, the Eureka Gold Mine will be the second largest gold producer in Zimbabwe. The mine is expected to have a life of at least five years, based on current reserves and resources. Mineralisation occurs within three broad shear envelopes contained within a granodiorite body. The three main mineralised vein systems strike east—west and dip to the south at 45-50° (Mining in Southern Africa, 1999c). The mineralised vein systems converge into the highly silicified and mineralised nose of the granodiorite. The strike of the ore body is up to 300 m. Eureka has a total resource of 16,4 Mt at 2,3 g/t Au, and a probable reserve of 6,9 Mt grading 2,01 g/t Au (Resource Information Unit, 1999).
    • Muriel Mine. Ownership in 2001: Coronation Syndicate, a subsidiary of Lonrho The Muriel Mine, named after the wife of its discoverer, has produced gold continuously since 1934. Quartz veins, striking east—west and dipping steeply south, are hosted within hornblende schist. Sulphide minerals present are chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, pyrite, pentlandite and sphalerite. The veins are affected by isoclinal folding. In addition to 25 885 kg Au, 13 759 t of copper were also produced (Bartholomew, 1992) up to 1991
    • .Eldorado Mine. Ancient workings were discovered by European settlers in 1894. Eldorado, located 10 km northeast of Chinhoyi, was a major producer from 1905-1919. Disseminated gold occurs in two shear zones, striking northeast and dipping steeply northwest, in conglomerates of the Shamvaian Group. One shear zone along footwall is in contact with sericite schist. Total production was 15 141 kg from ores grading 17,7 g/t Au (Bartholomew, 1992).
    • Ayrshire Mine. This mine re-opened in 1993, but is currently dormant. Former production was 4 458 kg. The Ayrshire deposit is hosted in hornblende and chlorite schist. The host schist appears to be part of a large xenolith within and near to the western edge of a porphyritic granite. The ore body itself is a diorite which is auriferous over a thickness of between 3-30 m (Bartholomew, 1992). Shearing is intense. Gold occurs as low-grade disseminations in the diorite while higher-grade ores are in silicified zones within the chloritic shears (Elevatorski, 1995). It has been reported that 65 per cent of the gold recovered was in the form of fine native gold.
    • Golden Kopje Mine. Ownership in 2001: Kinross Gold Corporation 100 per cent Mining began in 1982. Golden Kopje is located 19 km southwest of Chinhoyi. Ore bodies consist of a series of quartz-ankerite lenses, 1-3 m wide and 2-30 m long (Elevatorski, 1995). They occur within a fractured and contorted banded iron formation which strikes northeast and dips steeply northwest, enclosed between talcose schist and chlorite schist. Gold is associated with pyrite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite. In 1996 proven and proba¬ble reserves were 258 000 t, averaging 4,46 g/t Au (Resource Information Unit, 1999).
      Harare (Shamva) Greenstone Belt
        Known formerly as the Salisbury Greenstone Belt, this arcuate belt extends northerly from Harare to Mazoe, Bindura and Shamva
        •  Freda-Rebecca Mine. Ownership in 2001: Ashanti Goldfields Company Ltd 100 per cent. The deposit was first worked in 1912, but production ceased in 1917. Cluff Mineral Exploration re-opened the mine as an opencast operation in 1986 and the first gold was poured in mid-1988. From January 1996 the mine became part of the international Ashanti Goldfields Corporation. It produces 2 955 kg Au a year. Average grade is about 3 g/t Au. The ore occurs in two miner-alised shear zones (the Freda ore body and the Rebecca ore body), within a diorite host rock in a kidney-shaped body on the southwestern flank of a granodiorite stock which intruded into metasediments (Mining in Southern Africa, 1997d). The Freda shear zone, with a width of 20-80 m, strikes northeast—southwest and dips towards the southeast at about 25°. The Rebecca shear zone, with a width of 30-60 m, strikes northwest—southeast and dips towards the southwest at 35°. The two shears con¬verge towards the south and the mineralised shear zone extends about 50 m into the metasediments. The total strike length of the mineralisation from the eastern end of the Rebecca shear to the western end of the Freda shear is about 1,2 km. The dominant sulphides are pyrite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and arsenopyrite. The oxidised ores are now depleted and the mining of sulfide ores is accomplished by combined open-pit and underground mining Total proven reserves in 1997 were 7,1 Mt of ore grading at 3,3 g/t Au, and total probable reserves 2,1 Mt grading at 3 g/t (Resource Information Unit, 1999).

        Freda-Rebecca gold mine

        • Shamva Mine. Ownership: Lonmin PLC (previously Lornho PLC) Mining at this deposit, located about 70 km northeast of Harare, commenced in 1909 and Shamva was one of the largest gold producers in Zimbabwe. It was still active in 1997. Annual gold production was in the 622-kg range. The high-grade ore of the upper levels has been mined out and extensive exploration is being conducted look­ing for open-pit and depth-extension potential in the area around the mine (Mining in Southern Africa, 1999d). The gold occurs within pyrite (54 per cent) and as free grains in quartz stringers (46 per cent), and is hosted within volcaniclastics of the Shamvaian Group (Eleva­torski, 1995). Ores also contain some sphalerite and arsenopyrite. Mineralisation is controlled by fractures related to folding, and fracture intersections are particu­larly favourable for enhanced gold values.
        • Phoenix Prince (Prince of Wales) Mine. About 1,5 km southeast of the Freda-Rebecca Mine is the Phoenix Prince shear. This deposit has been worked in the past, but operations ceased in 1962. This mine recovered 15,5 t Au. Host rocks are fractured diorite. Oxide ore reserves are estimated at about 1 Mt, with an average grade of 1 g/t Au (Mining in Southern Africa, 1997d). The oxide ore could be exploited by a heap- leach operation and there is also potential to delineate a sulphide ore body below the oxide cap. Mineralisation consists of pyrite and arsenopyrite, with minor galena, pyrrhotite and scheelite.
          • Tafuna Hill. Tafuna Hill occupies an area of approximately 14 km2 and is located 5 km southeast of the Shamva Mine. The Tafuna Hill group of mines included the Alliance, Euchered, Forbes 19, Ilex, Joking, Top, Trio, Queens Gift, Tip Top and Teviot Mines. This topographic feature is well known for its remarkable concentration of aurif­erous veins and is the most extensively mineralised area within this greenstone belt. The ore bodies have variable strike and most dip between 30 and 50°. Tafuna Hill exists as a mafic 'island', entirely enclosed within Sham­vaian sediments, comprising metabasaltic and metado­leritic greenstones and agglomerates/breccias assigned to the Tafuna Formation (Mugumbate, 1990). Total group production up to 1984 was 7 473 kg Au (average grade 13,8 g/t) and 15,45 t of scheelite.
          • Gladstone Mine. Quartz veins and disseminations in a wide shear zone, that extends from the Arcturus Mine , were the sources of gold mined here and yielded about 5 487 kg. The Gladstone Mine is approximately 30 km east of Harare. The high-grade veins contained 26,8 g/t Au. Mineralisation occurs intermittently over a strike length of 12 km. Host rocks are actinolite schists.
          • Kimberley Mine. Recorded production was 5 225 kg, from ores grading at 7,8 g/t Au. The deposit is located about 3 km east of Bindura. Quartz stringers and veins occur in a shear zone trending from 060° to 065°. Host rocks are hornblende schist and greywackes of the Shamvaian Group.
          • Bernheim Mine. Approximately 6 km southwest of Mazoe, quartz veins occupy well-defined fissures which mainly strike east— west and dip steeply to the south. Host rocks are meta- basalt and metatuff. Production totalled about 3 484 kg from ores with an average grade of 7,2 g/t Au.
          • Golden Quarry Mine. Ownership in 2001: Falcon Gold Zimbabwe Ltd 100 per cent Prior to Falcon Gold commencing open-pit mining in 1991, this mine had accumulated production of 289 kg of gold, grading at 6 g/t. The area is characterised by a rhyolite of the Upper Bulawayan Group with some small quartz veins striking south and southwest. The main quartz reef worked dipped 45-50° to the southeast, with widths of up to 1 m (Resource Information Unit, 1999). Reserves are estimated at 1 Mt, grading 2,5 g/t Au.
          • Epsom Mine. A lenticular quartz vein, striking 170° and dipping 45-50° to the east, is hosted in strongly foliated actino­lite-talc schist near a granite contact (Bartholomew, 1992). Reported gold production is 1 701 kg.
          • Promoter Mine. Northwest-striking mineralised shears hosted in granite yielded 1 595 kg, grading 2,7 g/t Au (Bartholomew, 1992).
          • Botha Mine. This low-grade deposit yielded 1 260 kg Au, grading at 2,1 g/t. Short gold shoots occur in east-southeast-striking fissures in granite.
          • Storis Golden Shaft Mine. Quartz veins and stringers occur in a shear zone with an average width of 2 m. The veins strike north-northwest and dip 50-60° to the north (Bartholomew, 1992). Host rocks are epidiorite. Reported production is 1 160 kg, with average recovery grade of 6,6 g/t Au.
          • Ascot Mine. Quartz veins dipping southeastwards yielded 1 197 kg Au, with an average recovery grade of 13,7 g/t (Bartholomew, 1992). Pyrite is the main sulphide mineral.
          • Arcturus Mine. Ownership in 2001: Lonmin PLC (previously Lornho PLC) Gold mineralisation is restricted to six main shear zones striking 100° and dipping between 55° and 75° to the north (Resource Information Unit, 1999). Host rocks are basaltic and andesitic lavas. The major ore minerals present are arsenopyrite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, stibnite, chal­copyrite and molybdenite.
          • Mazowe (Mazoe) Mine. Ownership in 2001: Lonmin PLC (previously Lonrho PLC) Mining at Mazowe began in 1898. The deposit is locat­ed about 50 km northwest of Harare. Gold-pyrite mineralisation occurs in a number of subparallel, steeply dipping ore horizons that follow shears in a granodioritic stock (Elevatorski, 1995). Veins are narrow, about 0,7 m, mainly east—west-striking and dip 30-50° to the north. In addition to the vein-type deposits, auriferous scams were also present along the contact of rhyolites and dacites with the granodiorite. The Mazowe exploration licence covers 1 130 km2.
          Gwanda Greenstone Belt
            This east—west-trending belt in southwest Zimbabwe extends from Gwanda to West Nicholson and consists of Archaean supracrustal rocks. The two major producers are the Blanket and Vubachikwe Mines, both current producers (2001).
            • Vubachikwe Mine. Ownership in 2001: Forbes and Thompson Byo (Pvt.) Ltd From ores grading at 7,2 g/t Au (Elevatorski, 1995), about 25 t Au have been produced (pers commun., J.H.W. Ward). The workings, 9 km northwest of Gwanda, have reached a depth of 1 155 m. Ores are host¬ed in beds of banded iron formation striking northwest and dipping 75° to the southwest. The gold is present as free gold and as inclusions in arsenopyrite. Generally the ores occur in lenses 5-40 m in thickness and up to 200 m downdip (Elevatorski, 1995). The mine is located on the northern limb of a plunging syncline, and ore bodies are folded and boudinaged. Gold also occurs as disseminated replacements in adjacent basaltic rocks. Vubachikwe is currently being operated by Forbes and Thompson. The total resource of this deposit is estimat¬ed at 40 t Au.
            • Blanket Mine. Ownership in 2001: Kinross Gold Corporation 100 per cent Mining resumed in 1965 on workings active in the early 1900s. In 1995 the underground workings were 630 m deep. The Blanket Mine is located approximately 13 km northwest of Gwanda. The original mine is on a lenticular quartz vein striking south-southeast and dipping 75° to the west, hosted in a hornblende schist (Resource Information Unit, 1999). Mineralisation is controlled by a shear zone. Major sulfide minerals present are pyrite, arsenopyrite and pyrrhotite. Silicification is the dominant alteration. In 1996, proven reserves in the operating areas and in the pillars were 2 892 kg, with 4 292 kg contained in the tailings. In the stockpiles were an estimated 31,10 kg Au. Currently underground mining and dump retreatment is carried out by Kinross.
            • Jessie Mine. Ownership in 2001: F.A. Stewart (Pvt.) Ltd The Jessie Mine is currently operated by F.A. Stewart Ltd. From ores grading at 10,5 g/t, previously reported production is approximately 11,5 t Au, as well as a minor amount of copper. Hornblende schist hosts auriferous quartz veins dipping steeply to the southwest. Pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and galena are erratically distributed.
              • Freda Mine. Ownership in 2001: Forbes and Thompson Byo (Pvt.) Ltd Mining at Freda started in 1919. The deposit is located 22 km west of Gwanda. Oxidised ore containing pyrrhotite, pyrite and arsenopyrite, with minor amounts of tetradymite, was mined by opencast methods and 7 550 kg Au were recovered, grading at 3,3 g/t Au. The vein-type ores are hosted in epidiorite surrounded by grits and quartz-mica schist. The ore bodies were up to 30 m thick, striking 115° and inclined steeply to the southwest (Bartholomew, 1992). The deposit is mined out, having been worked to a depth of 1 100 m at a recovered grade of about 0,8 g/t Au.
              • Geelong Mine. Vein-type ores dipping 33° north-northeast were mined from a gneissic granite host rock. The lodes have a maximum thickness of 20 m. The principal gold shoot had a length of about 244 m. Reported gold production is 6 127 kg.
              • Horn Mine. Production started in 1918. The reef consists of a broad zone of shearing and fracturing over a strike length of 305 m in a gneissic granite. The strike takes a conspicu-ous curve from northeast at the southern end to nearly northwest at the northern end (Tyndale-Biscoe, 1937). The dip also changes from 45° northwest in the southern section to vertical or steep easterly in the northern section. Vein-type ores averaged 11,4 g/t Au and cumulative production was 5 012 kg (Bartholomew, 1992).
              • Big Ben Mine. Gold-quartz veins striking northwest cut an east—west-trending shear zone hosted in heavily carbonated epidiorite (Bartholomew, 1992). Associated sulphides include pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and galena. Recorded gold production from this deposit, located 12 km southeast of Gwanda, was about 3 531 kg and averaged 8,2 g/t.
              • Abercorn Mine. Two quartz reefs, striking about north-northeast and dipping west at an average of 35°, were worked and yielded 2 269 kg Au. They are referred to as the Old Abercorn and the New Abercorn, the former cropping out approxi-mately 183 m west-northwest of the latter. The Old Abercorn reef (up to 0,23 m wide) is hosted in greenstone schist, while New Abercorn (up to 0,15 m wide) is hosted in a siliceous or felsic schist (Tyndale-Biscoe, 1937).
              • Penzance Mine. A quartz reef, with an average width of 0,15 m, stri-king northwest and dipping 80° to the northeast, yield¬ed 2 225 kg Au, grading 13,3 g/t (Bartholomew, 1992). Sulphide minerals present, in order of decreasing abundance, are pyrite, galena, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, pyrrhotite and arsenopyrite.
              • Antenior Mine. A lenticular, subvertical, quartz vein striking 100° pro-duced about 2 165 kg Au. Host rocks are chloritic schists. The shoot is worked out, but the fissure contin¬ues laterally and may contain other pay shoots.
              • Farvic Mine. Production started in 1909. The reef mined was a strong fracture zone, up to 3 m wide, hosted in epidiorite, striking east—west and dipping north at an average of 30° (Tyndale-Biscoe, 1937). Lenticular quartz veins within this fracture zone contain the gold mineralisation. The mine produced almost 2 100 kg Au, with an average recovery grade of 16,6 g/t.
              • Nicholson Mine. A lense of massive quartz, up to 11,28 m wide and 213,36 m long, dipping steeply south, was mined opencast. Reported production is about 1 888 kg Au and 2,33 t of copper. Gold mineralisation is hosted in hornblende schist.
              • Bucks Reef. The Bucks Reef, worked from 1907, is a fairly wide reef of lenticular veins and stringers of quartz with pyrite, pyrrhotite and arsenopyrite. The reef strikes 040° and dips 60° northwestwards to vertical. The shoot had a length of only 61 m, but was followed down to a depth of over 274 m (Tyndale-Biscoe, 1937). Host rocks are epidiorite. Reported gold production is about 1 443 kg, with an average recovery grade of 27,0 g/t (Bartholomew, 1992).
              • Prince Olaf Mine. The reef at the Prince Olaf Mine comprises a quartz vein up to 0,6 m wide, striking east—west and dipping north¬wards at an average of 28°. Host rocks are biotitic quartz-monzonite. Production started in 1915 and totalled 1 435 kg Au, grading at 21,8 g/t.
              • Lone Hand Mine. The reef consists of a shear zone, with an average width of 1,07 m, hosted within quartz schist (Tyndale-Biscoe, 1937). The reef strikes 140°, and dips between 70° and 80° to the north. The shear zone is mineralised with pyrite and pyrrhotite. Cumulative production is 1 324 kg, grading at 11,4 g/t Au.
              • Colleen Bawn Mine. The reef comprises a quartz vein striking 083° and dip¬ping steeply to the south. Host rocks are greenstones and graphitic schist close to a granite contact. Production totalled 1 063 kg, grading at 15,1 g/t Au.
              • Champion Mine. A highly mineralised, shattered, banded iron formation striking 160° and dipping 75° to the west, yielded about 1 007 kg Au and 1 397 t of arsenic.
              • Lady Lina Mine. Ownership in 2001: Antares Mining and Exploration Corporation 36,5 per cent, Forbes and Thompson Byo (Pvt.) Ltd 63,5 per cent The Lady Lina Mine is about 3 km southeast of the Vubachikwe Mine. Two adjacent zones of shattered banded iron formation, dipping 75° southwest, occur in mafic basalt of the Upper Bulawayan Group. Past production was about 1 394 kg from ores grading 10,2 g/t Au. A feasibility study on the mine was completed in 1995 and operations began in April 1996. In 1998 total proven and probable sulphide reserves were 102 145 t, grading 6,28 g/t Au (Resource Information Unit, 1999). Gold-bearing quartz veins also occur.
              Mutare Greenstone Belt

              Located in eastern Zimbabwe  on the border with Mozambique, the Mutare Greenstone Belt extends west from Penhalonga to Odzi.
              • Rezende Mine. Mining at the site of ancient workings began in 1880. The mine closed in 1967 and total recorded production was 37 784 kg Au, with an average recovery grade of 10,4 g/t. Pyrite, galena, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, scheel¬ite and native gold occur in quartz veins in a shear zone, over 1,3 km long, hosted in granodiorite.
              • Old West Mine. Recorded production from ores grading 3,2 g/t Au is about 7 514 kg. The Old West ore body, 5 km west of Penhalonga, is essentially a stockwork of quartz stringers in a quartz porphyry sheet which was intruded into quartz diorite (Bartholomew, 1992). The gold is mainly confined to the quartz and is accompanied by galena, chalcopyrite, sphalerite and pyrrhotite.
              • Penhalonga Mine. Quartz veins, striking 80° and dipping very steeply to the north, are hosted by talcose schist. Sulphide minerals present are galena, chalcopyrite and scheelite. Recorded production from this deposit, located 5 km south of Penhalonga, is 5 937 kg Au, 5 724 t galena concentrates, about 32 t of silver and 4,7 t of copper.
              • Redwing Mine. Ownership in 2001: Lonmin PLC (previously Lomho PLC) Underground mining from ores grading 5,4 g/t Au started at the Redwing Mine in 1984. Lenticular pods and 3- m-thick veins are situated in a ductile shear zone, and hosted in phyllite and metamorphosed argillite (Elevatorski, 1995). Pyrite and chalcopyrite are the dom¬inant sulphides which replace siderite and magnetite. Annual production is 0,93 t Au (30 000 oz).
              • King's Daughter Mine. Narrow quartz veins striking east—west, with a shallow dip to the south, occur in long, narrow sheets of rhyolite intruded into greenstones and carbonated talcose schist. In addition to about 1 965 kg Au, 2,5 t of lead were also produced (Bartholomew, 1992).
              Bulawayo Greenstone Belt

              This belt in southwestern Zimbabwe extends in an easterly direction from Bulawayo to Esigodini. Regionally, it comprises a large synclinorium of metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks surrounded by granitoid.
              • How Mine. Ownership in 2001: Lonmin PLC (previously Lonrho PLC) How Mine, located about 15 km southeast of Bulawayo, has been active since the 1940s. It has a current annual gold production of 1,56 t (50 000 oz) and has several shafts down to depths of about 700 m (Mining in Southern Africa, 1999d). Extensions to the ore body have been found at depth. Disseminated and vein-type mineralisation is found in felsic tuffs within a sequence of isoclinally folded sediments and felsic pyroclastic rocks (Resource Information Unit, 1999). Ore bodies occur in a zone which follows a sinuous north-northwest trend, dipping 75° west (Pitfield and Campbell, 1996). Major sulphide minerals found here are pyrite and arsenopyrite, with minor pyrrhotite, sphalerite, chal¬copyrite and galena. Production totalled 15,8 t Au.
              Structural controls in the distribution of gold at How Mine, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
              Michael Harley and E. Guy Charlesworth
              Univ. Witwatersrand, Dep. Geol., Witwatersrand, South Africa

              Abstract

              The How mine is situated in the southeastern quadrant of the Bulawayo greenstone belt within sediments and volcaniclastics of the late Archean Dacitic Greenstone Formation of the Upper Bulawayan Group. Sited on the northern limb of a northeast-verging syncline, the mine comprises several ore zones which occur as an en echelon array of parallel, steeply plunging linear shoots. These shoots are confined within an extensional right-stepping, northerly trending strike-slip duplex. Faulting has followed preferred lithologic contacts.Mineralization is dominated by a pyrite-gold association and occurs as disseminations within altered mylonites (felsites) and tuffs, as fabric replacement within tuffs, and associated with veins in siltstones and iron-formations. Accessory magnetite in tuffs and magnetite layers in iron-formation are replaced by pyrite, and ore textures suggest an epigenetic origin to the mineralization. Alteration is widespread and dominated by carbonation, sulfidization, and propylitic alteration.Permeability within the duplex was generated by slip and dilation of the synclinal axialplanar cleavage, which lies at a high angle to the strike of the duplex. Early ductile deformation is overprinted by later brittle faulting which cuts early mineralization. The linear ore zones parallel the intersection lineation between the preexisting cleavage and the duplex fault-shear zones. In the north area of the mine, ore zones are developed within the fault-bounded tuff unit (e.g., the north 180 ore zone), but in the south the ore zones parallel the Hanging-wall fault-shear zone and transgress major lithologic contacts.

              • Bushtick Mine. Mineralisation is confined to a shear zone that runs parallel to the northwest margin of the Esigodini pluton (Pitfield an d Campbell, 1996). Host rocks are mafic volcanics altered by silicification and carbonatisation. The ore bodies all plunge at 45-60° east-southeast. About 50 per cent of the gold is free milling and very fine grained, and the remainder is contained in pyrite. Cumulative production from ores grading at 5,4 g/t Au was 15 044 kg (Bartholomew, 1992).
              • Old Nic Mine, Ownership in 2001: Falcon Gold Zimbabwe Ltd 100 per cent Recorded production was about 6,59 t Au from this deposit just east of Bulawayo. The 2-km-long mineralised zone lies along the notherly trending axis of a tight to isoclinal syncline in greenstones. There are four sub- parallel main reefs which dip 70-77° east. At present, Falcon Gold is processing low-grade ores from the mine (2001).
              • Good Enough Mine. The Good Enough Mine had produced 1,54 t Au up to 1994. The ore comprised a quartz reef dipping 52° northwest and steepening to 80° with increasing depth, hosted in coarse-grained dolerite.
              • Criterion Mine. The mine produced 1 020 kg Au grading 12,0 g/t, as well as 14,48 t of scheelite. Parallel lenticular quartz reefs, striking 080° and dipping 50-70° south, are hosted in hornblende schist (Bartholomew, 1992). The major sul­phide minerals are chalcopyrite, pyrite and galena.
                Filabusi Greenstone Belt
                  Several gold mines have been significant producers in this belt, located near Filabusi, which is about 60 km east-southeast of Bulawayo.
                  •  Fred Mine. Ownership: Exmin Syndicate 100 per cent. First Quantum Minerals Ltd acquiring 100 per cent. The Fred Mine, 9 km northeast of Filabusi, has pro­duced 18 662 kg Au, at a grade of 11,1 g/t, and 66,21 t of scheelite. The main reef strikes 080° and dips 70-75° south in .a shear zone in massive epidiorite (Resource Information Unit, 1999). It consists of two or three lenticular seams of quartz, flanked by quartz stringers and varies from a few centimetres to more than 3 m in width. In 1998 First Quantum signed an agreement with Exmin Syndicate to buy the Fred Mine under an exclu­sive option to 15 July 1999. In 1998 First Quantum started a reverse-circulation drilling, programme in order to delineate a 1-Moz resource, mineable by open­cast methods.
                  •  Marvel Mine. A discontinuous quartz-filled fracture, striking northeast and dipping steeply northwest, was exploited to produce 4 460 kg Au and 0,22 t of scheelite (Bartholomew, 1992). The deposit is located about 3 km southwest of Filabusi. Host rocks are chlorite and actinolite schist with interbedded phyllite and banded iron formation.
                  • True Blue Mine. Quartz reefs, striking 065-080° and dipping 36° to the north, occur in a well-developed shear zone and yielded 3 454 kg Au, with an average recovery grade of 11,0 g/t. The main reef reaches a maximum width of 3 m.
                  • Killarney Mine. Two parallel lenticular quartz reefs, striking 117° and dipping 70° north, merging at one end, yielded 2 254 kg Au and 106,34 t of scheelite.
                  • Slope Mine. The ore body occurs in granophyre in a narrow tongue of greenstones flanked by serpentinite. The main quartz reef is 0,6-1,3 m wide, strikes 74° and dips 45° to the north. Cumulative production is reported to be 2 153 kg, grading at 11,1 g/t Au.
                  • Mayfair Mine. Total production is reported to be about 1 277 kg grad­ing 10,1 g/t Au. Mineralisation is contained in a quartz reef dipping 72° west, hosted in a shear zone (Bartholo­mew, 1992). Sulphide minerals present are pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite and galena. Wall rocks are also strongly impregnated with pyrrhotite.
                  • Royal Family Mine. Gold was discovered in 1983 and an open-pit heap- leaching operation began in 1984, and continued until 1993 when operations shifted to the nearby Peachtree Mine (which is now closed because reserves were large¬ly depleted). Ore bodies are lenticular in shape, dip 55-80° and generally conform to regional foliation. Ore averaged 1,2 g/t Au, and occurred associated with quartz stringers in graphitic phyllite and chloritic schist.
                  • Teutonic Mine. The two main quartz reefs are associated with shear zones in massive epidiorite and hornblende schist. The one reef strike 080° and dips 50-60° to the north, the other dips vertically and strikes 150° (Bartholomew, 1992).

                  Mberengwa Greenstone Belt


                  Located in south-central Zimbabwe, the Mberengwa Belt extends from Zvishavane south-southwesterly to Rupanga.
                  •  C-Mine. Ownership in 2001: Oliver Gold Corporation 50 per cent, Forbes and Thompson Byo (Pvt.) Ltd 50 per cent. C-Mine lies on an east—west-trending quartz-vein sys¬tem, hosted by basaltic greenstones of the Lower Bulawayan Group near the contact of the Mberengwa Greenstone belt with tonalitic gneiss Mining activities are focused on a steeply south-dipping quartz vein. The vein forms a prominent ridge on surface which extends for a strike length of over 700 m and varies between 2-14 m in width (Resource Information Unit, 1999). Native gold and sulphides occur along fine, chloritic fracture planes in zones up to a metre or more in width. Dominant sulphide mineralogy is pyrite and coarse galena, with minor pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite. Gold production is approximately 170 kg per annum, with an average grade of about 5 g/t Au (Resource Information Unit, 1999). In 1998 the mine had been developed to a depth of 380 m below surface.
                  • Sabi Mine. Ownership in 2001: Guyana Gold Corporation. Guyana is upgrading the Sabi open-pit mine to increase production to 1 244 kg Au per annum. The mine has probable reserves of 19,8 t Au. Gold mineralisation is contained in parallel to subparallel en echelon quartz veins within several parallel north—south shear zones, which dip vertically and vary in width up to 4 m (African Mining, 1996a). Host rocks are granitic gneisses.

                  • Berea Mine. The main quartz reef is 0,45 m to 0,60 m wide, strikes east—west and dips 40° to the south (Bartholomew, 1992). It occupies a thrust plane in greenstones. Production totalled about 1 227 kg with an average recovery grade of 8,6 g/t Au.
                  Antelope-Lower Gwanda Greenstone Belt

                  This greenstone belt lies about 75 km south of the Gwanda Greenstone Belt , in southern Zimbabwe. The major producer was the Antelope Mine.
                  • Antelope Mine. During its life the mine produced slightly more than 9 t Au, with an average recovery grade of 10,2 g/t. The Antelope deposit comprised three mineralised shear zones, the most important of which was confined to a serpentinised peridotite near its contact with a hornblende schist (Foster et al., 1986). The wall rocks adjacent to this main ore body were altered to actinolite schist. Pyrrhotite was the most common sulphide mineral and was accompanied by minor pyrite and magnetite; 70-80 per cent of the gold was contained within the sulphide minerals. In places the ore body contained garnet, hornblende and actinolite. The average thickness of the main ore body was about 1 m, but ranged up to 6 m, with an average strike of 110° and dip of 55° north. The ore body has been intruded by numerous pegmatite dykes which have a maximum thickness of approximately 30 m.
                  • Legion Mine. Opaque white quartz veins, 0,6-2,0 m wide, occupy small strike faults dipping 70° east in a north—south-striking body of actinolite schist (Bartholomew, 1992). Pyrite and pyrrhotite are the main sulphide minerals. Cumulative gold production was about 1 602 kg from ores with average recovery grades of 9,7 g/t.

                  • Sun Yat Sen Mine. Gold is contained in a subvertical banded iron formation, striking 168°, composed of alternating layers of hornblende and magnetite. The banded iron formation is hosted within actinolite and hornblende schist. Produc¬tion totalled almost 3006 kg Au. Average ore grade was 17,5 g/t Au (Bartholomew, 1992).
                  Mvuma Greenstone Belt

                  Miners worked near-surface copper and gold deposits in the 16th century in this small greenstone belt in proximity to Mvuma.
                  • Falcon Mine. In 1903 gold was found at the site of ancient copper workings, just south of Mvuma. The mine was operated intermittently from 1910-1926. Quartz veins, striking east—west and dipping 60° to the south (Bartholomew, 1992), are hosted in talcose and chlorite schist. From ores grading 6,7 g/t Au, about 12 684 kg Au was produced, as well as 31 225 t of copper.
                  • Athens Mine. Early development began in 1902 on former ancient workings east of the Falcon Mine. Two steeply dipping ore bodies known as the South Ore Body and North Ore Body, are hosted in quartz-tremolite-chlorite schist, talc schist, tremolite-anthophyllite schist and chlorite schist. Gold and silver are associated with pyrite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite in quartz veins and as disseminations in the altered wall rock. This deposit was also mined for cop­per. The ore bodies occur within, or parallel to, shear zones. Host rocks have been isoclinally folded. The mine was still active in 1997 and was served by a 400­m-deep shaft. Average ore grade was 4,8 g/t Au.
                  • Welcome Mine. The Welcome reef is a quartz vein of variable width, striking 050° and dipping 80° to the north, hosted in greenstones of the Upper Bulawayan Group. Ores aver­aged 14,8 g/t Au.
                    Beatrice Greenstone Belt
                      The Beatrice Greenstone Belt  is a small remnant of mafic rocks, located about 55 km south of Harare.
                      • Beatrice Mine. The cumulative gold production from this deposit is about 2 973 kg, grading at 20,6 g/t. A lenticular quartz reef, striking north—south to 032° with an average dip of 50° east, occupies a fissure in epidiorite (Bartholomew, 1992). The major sulphide mineral present is pyrite. Minor chal­copyrite, galena, stibnite and pyrrhotite also occur.
                      • Joyce Mine. The quartz reef occurs in a schistose channel in massive greenstones. The reef, striking north-northeast, is often intensely folded. In addition to 1 188 kg Au, 372 t of copper were produced.
                      •  Roma Mine. Ore bodies consist of lenses and pods of massive sul­phides concordant with the host rocks (mafic rocks inter­bedded with chert). Production totalled about 1 868 kg grading 4,5 g/t Au.
                        Shangani-Fort Rixon Greenstone Belt
                        • Nelly Mine. The reef consists of lenticular quartz veins, striking north-northeast and dipping 45° to the west, hosted in schist. Average width of the veins is 0,4 m. Production totalled 2 820 kg Au.
                        • Claremont Mine. The reef comprises a strong shear zone in chlorite schist, with lenses and veins of quartz striking 010° and dipping between 40° and 60° to the west. Main production was during the period 1906-1914. It is reported that the Claremont ore body was about 457 m long and develo­ped to a depth of 244 m (Tyndale-Biscoe, 1937). From ores grading 10,1 g/t Au, 1 206 kg were recovered.
                        • New Eclipse Mine. The New Eclipse Mine was a continuous producer from 1908-1926. It was again exploited in the 1940s and 1980s. A quartz vein, striking 170° and dipping 45° to the west, is hosted in a shear zone in chloritic schist. Wall rocks are heavily carbonated. Average recovery grade was 13,1 g/t Au.
                        Mashava Greenstone Belt



                        A few mines have produced gold near Mashava. In the early 1990s the only active operation was the Lennox Mine.

                        • Empress Mine. Ownership in 2001: Reedbuck Investments The deposit was discovered in 1910. The ore body comprises a sheet of banded iron formation, 11 m thick, bounded on the west by ultramafic rocks and on the east by greenstones. Former production was 1 780 kg, grading 5,5 g/t Au. Reedbuck Investments has reopened the Empress Mine.
                        • Lennox Mine. The Lennox Mine, 2 km south of Mashava, was operated between 1905-1908 and again during 1925-1926. It was re-opened in the 1970s and produced gold from ores averaging 6,2 g/t Au. It was still active in the early 1990s. Three forms of gold mineralisation are present (Elevatorski, 1995): gold-quartz veins, pyrrhotite-rich sulfides enveloping the quartz veins, and auriferous pyrite which has replaced magnetite bands in a banded iron-formation unit. Host rocks are sheared chloritic and actinolite schist in the Sebakwian Group.
                        Rhodesdale Gneiss Terrain



                        Gold mining in the granite-gneiss terrain south and east of Kadoma has continued without interruption since the turn of the century, and has given rise to numerous profitable small workings as well as several larger mines.

                        • Thistle Etna Mine. Quartz reefs in gneissic granite have yielded about 6 711 kg Au. The main reef strikes north-northwest, dips be-tween 20° and 30° to the west and averages 0,75 m in width (Bartholomew, 1992).
                        •  Piper Moss Mine. From lenticular bodies of laminated quartz, hosted in fissures in gneissic tonalite, about 5 362 kg Au were recov¬ered. The main reef fissure strikes 075-100° and dips between 45° and 55° to the north (Bartholomew, 1992).

                        • Owl Mine. The Owl Mine was originally pegged in 1891, but no production was recorded until 1911. The ore body is a quartz reef occupying a fissure in gneissic tonalite, which strikes 125° and dips at 33° to the northeast. The reef varies in thickness from 0,6-3,0 m, but averages about 1 m. Pyrite and galena are associated with the mineralisation, but tend to be segregated towards the margins of the reef. The mine is affected by extensive faulting. Reported production is about 5 222 kg, grading 13,3 g/t Au.
                        • Inez Mine. Quartz veins filling fissures, striking east—west and dipping between 60° and 70° to the south, are hosted in a greenstone inclusion (Bartholomew, 1992). Recorded gold production is 4 027 kg, with an average recovery grade of 12,6 g/t. Sulphide minerals present are pyrite, chalcopyrite and stibnite. The Inez North deposit was discovered in 1984. Situated in banded tonalitic gneiss, the deposit comprises discordant quartz veins trending close to 160° and dipping west-southwest at an average inclination of 35° (Kalbskopf and Fernandes, 1987). Mineralisation consists mainly of pyrite, arsenopyrite and stibnite, with minor amounts of scheelite.
                        • Shepherds Reef Mine. Lenses of quartz, generally dipping steeply to the south, occur in a contorted greenstone inclusion in granite (Bartholomew, 1992). From ores grading 5,6 g/t Au, about 2 459 kg were recovered.
                        • Primrose Mine. Quartz veins, striking north—south and hosted in gneissic tonalite, yielded almost 1 763 kg Au, with an average recovery grade of 10,6 g/t. Sulphide minerals, in order of decreasing abundance, are pyrite, pyrrhotite, arsenopy¬rite, stibnite, chalcopyrite and galena.
                        • Tix Mine. The mine operated from 1904-1911 and then again almost continuously from 1932-1955. The reef at the Tix Mine consists of a quartz vein, striking 050° and dipping at about 70° to the north (Bliss, 1970). Galena, sphalerite and pyrite are associated with the mineralisation and tend to occur in segregations. The gold mineralisation is erratic and is best when galena is abundant (Bliss, 1970). Gold production is reported to be about 1 257 kg, grading at 8,3 g/t.
                        • Brompton Mine. The Brompton underground mine was closed in August 1997 and Rio Tinto Zimbabwe sold the leases. The host is a series of en echelon slices of quartz in a channel striking east along the contact between rhyolite and a tonalite gneiss (Resource Information Unit, 1999). The slices pinch, swell and bifurcate locally. Major sulphide minerals present are pyrite, stibnite and scheelite. The mine treated 25 000 t of ore, at an average grade of 6,36 g/t Au, for a total of 155,5 kg Au produced during the first three quarters of 1997 (Resource Information Unit, 1999).
                        Limpopo Mobile Belt

                        Reefs bearing gold, along with bismuth and associated iron and copper sulphides, occur in granulite facies gneiss along the northern margin of the Limpopo Mobile Belt.
                        • Renco Mine. Ownershipin 2001: Rio Tinto Zimbabwe Ltd 100 per cent Rio Tinto's Renco Mine is the only significant gold mine in Zimbabwe outside greenstone belts and is one of the largest underground gold mines in the country. Oxidised ores at ancient workings were first noted in 1936, and mining began in 1939. Rio Tinto Zimbabwe took over the mine from a private owner in the 1970s. Quartz-sulphide ore bodies are concordant with east-northeast- striking foliation of felsic and mafic granulite and biotite gneiss (Resource Information Unit, 1999). Pyrrhotite, pyrite, chalcopyrite and bismuth are the main ore minerals. In 1997 the ore grade was 5,66 g/t Au. Renco has also produced 653 t of copper.
                        Renco gold mine

                        Other deposits
                        • Inyati. Mineralisation occurs in lenticular quartz bodies developed in the sheared margins of epidiorite dykes in granitic gneiss (Bartholomew, 1992). The main shear zone strikes northeast and dips between 70° and 80° to the northwest. In addition to 1 677 kg Au, 69 496 t of copper and 10,8 t of silver were recovered.
                        • Gothic. Parallel, steeply dipping quartz veins, filling fissures striking north, have yielded 1 104 kg Au and 1139 t of stibnite. The fissures are hosted in an epidotised shear zone in granitic gneiss close to the granite-greenstone contact.
                        • D Troop. Ownership in 2001: Consolidated African Mining Corporation option to acquire 100 per cent. D Troop, variously known as the Ancient, Angwa and Broken Hill claims, has operated continuously since 1909. Prior to 1963 production was by open stoping. In 1963 a decline shaft intersected a series of narrow reefs, which were mined until the workings flooded. The country rocks at D Troop comprise phyllite with sandy argillite intercalated by graphitic phyllite of the Proterozoic Piriwiri Group. The main workings were in a vertical stockwork of massive quartz veins and stringers, extensively folded and faulted (Resource Information Unit, 1999). The area was designated a drill target by Consolidated African Mining.
                        Exploration trends
                        • Giant. Ownership in 2001: AngloGold Ltd earning 50 per cent. Cambrian Resources NL 50 per cent of option to acquire 100 per cent. The area included several historic underground gold mines, which together had produced in excess of 18 t Au over the past century. Pyritic gold veins, striking north—south, occur at the contact of banded iron forma¬tion with chloritic schist. Associated minerals include pyrite, chalcopyrite and galena. Cambrian Resources is currently conducting exploration to evaluate the feasibil¬ity of developing a mining operation. Indicated and inferred resources are 4,9 Mt of ore, grading at 2,1 g/t Au.
                        • Ipanema. Ownership in 2001: Oliver Gold Corporation 100 per cent The Ipanema Prospect is hosted by intermediate to mafic metavolcanics and metasediments of the Hokonui Formation. Mineralisation occurs in north—south-trending, west-dipping zones with thicknesses ranging from several metres to several tens of metres. Disseminated pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite are present in association with chlorite alteration. Higher-grade intervals contain stringers of massive pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and quartz, lesser amounts of pyrite, arsenopyrite and, rarely, magnetite. A resource calculation was completed in 1997/98 which, based on a 1 g/t cut-off, yielded 4,83 Mt of ore, grading at 2 g/t Au (Resource Information Unit, 1999).
                        • Maligreen. Ownership in 2001: Cluff Mining Ltd 100 per cent. Gold mineralisation is associated with pyrite and arsenopyrite disseminated in, or around, quartz porphyries within Archaean metasediments and metavolcanics. Extensive drilling by Reunion Mining has defined a gold-in-soils anomaly approximately 3 000x400 m. The Maligreen deposit, located 240 km southwest of Harare, comprises a resource of 2,6 Mt, grading 4,45 g/t (equivalent of 371 000 oz Au). In April 1999, Cluff Mining entered into a put-option agreement over the Maligreen area, whereby Reunion Mining Plc has the option to require Cluff to acquire Reunion Zimbabwe Holdings Limited (RZH), the vehicle which holds the Maligreen area. On 18 June 1999, this put option was exercised by Reunion so that RZH will now become a wholly owned subsidiary of Cluff.
                        • Silobela Ownership in 2001: Reunion Mining PLC 50 per cent Rift Resources Ltd 50 per cent, The Solibela project encompasses 1 573 km2 which is partly covered by unconsolidated sands and minor clay beds of Tertiary age. This cover has discouraged gold prospecting and exploration in the past. However, exploration by Reunion Mining revealed a number of large gold-in-soil anomalies. The three anomalies on which most work has been carried out are each in excess of 2 km in length. Drilling at one of these intersected an intensely altered and sheared mineralised diorite with auriferous quartz stringers, which appear to be widening at depth. The best intersection to date is 3,58 g/t over 14,67 m. Gold mineralisation occurs in a northwesterly trend. The predominant rock types are the andesitic calc-alkaline volcanics of the Maliyama FormatiOn of the Archaean Upper Bulawayan Group.
                        • Khanye. Ownership in 2001: Reunion Mining PLC 100 per cent Reunion is in an advanced exploration stage on the Khanye project, which lies about 80 km west of Kwekwe and covers 624 km2. This gold deposit, covered by up to 60 m of unconsolidated sand, is hosted within Archaean greenstones with granitoid intrusions.
                        • Gondia. Ownership in 2001: Consolidated African Mining Corporation 100 per cent. Gondia was a 2,6-km2 mining claim located near D Troop. The main historic workings were very high grade, with gold values of 8,1 g/t and copper values of 3 per cent over a width of 1,2 m and strike length of 70 m. The Gondia project is in mid-Proterozoic phyllites, which have been intruded by granodiorite plutons and dolerite dykes and sills. There is little outcrop exposure owing to a covering of scree. Mineralisation occurs in quartz-carbonate veins, about 500 m long and up to 10 m wide, dipping steeply to the west (Resource Information Unit, 1999). The primary ore minerals are pyrite, bomite and chalcopyrite. Future work was to focus on potential extensions along strike and downdip. Consolidated African Mining are also to examine the possibility of parallel structures. The project has the potential to become a significant gold-copper operation.
                        • Mhangura. Ownership: First Quantum Minerals Ltd 100 per cent Gold mineralisation is hosted in northeast-trending stockwork quartz veins in Proterozoic shale (Resource Information Unit, 1999). Limited previous drilling intersected 7 m, grading at 2,7 g/t Au. As at early 1998, exploration on the property had been limited, but First Quantum Minerals planned an extensive trenching and reverse-circulation drilling programme to test the bulk- tonnage gold potential.
                        • Wild Mick, Ownership in 2001. Inmet Mining Corporation 100 per cent The Wild Mick property, covering an area of 22,68 km2, was optioned by Inmet Mining Corporation in 1996. In 1997, Altavista Mines acquired 50 per cent interest in the property. The gold prospects consist mostly of quartz veins hosted in chlorite-anIcerite schist or iron formation.
                        • Gambiza. At the Gambiza Prospect, 100 km northwest of Kadoma, trenching of a 300-m-wide shear zone, over 1 200 m long, has produced anomalous gold values ranging from 0,7 g/t over 60 m to 2,3 g/t over 4 m.
                        •  Metallon Gold Zimbabwe, owned by South African businessman Mzi Khumalo, is the country's largest gold producer, operates five mines, Shamva, Mazoe, Penhalonga, Arcturus and How, in Zimbabwe and produced 40 percent of the country's gold output of 11 000 tonnes in 2006. The company produced 140 000 ounces of gold in 2006 against a target of 160 000 ounces for the period. Two of their mines, How and Shamva, produced 66 percent of the gold. The country's largest gold mining company needs to raise $100 million to finance a new opencast mine project, the Redwing Mine, in Zimbabwe. Metallon's reserves have been estimated at 2,5 million oz and resources at 5,5 million oz. Metallon Gold Zimbabwe's gold output fell 50 percent to three tonnes in 2007, as the company suffered severe power outages.
                        • RioTinto Zimbabwe Ltd ( RioZim Ltd) operates the Renco mine. RioZim said gold production at Renco for 2006 was 740 kg, lower than 753 kg in the previous year, hit by a 53-day breakdown of its primary mill. RioZim is on a US$120 million expansion plan to lift output, but recently, there were fresh suggestions of a government takeover after President Mugabe made remarks in a state television interview that some took as meaning government would nationalise all diamond mining in the country. RioZim chairman Eric Kahari warned in a report to shareholdersin 2006 that business at the mine would start winding down in 2009 without the planned expansion.

                        Geological references for the Renco gold deposit:
                        • Blenkinsop T G, Frei R  1996 - Archean and Proterozoic mineralization and tectonics at the Renco mine (Northern Marginal Zone, Limpopo Belt, Zimbabwe): in    Econ. Geol.   v91, No. 7 pp 1225-1238
                        • Blenkinsop T G, Kroner A and Chiwara V,  2004 - Single stage, late Archaean exhumation of granulites in the Northern Marginal Zone, Limpopo Belt, Zimbabwe, and relevance to gold mineralization at Renco mine : in    S. Afr. J. Geol.   v107 pp 377-396
                        • Bohmke F C, Varndell B J  1986 - Gold in granulites at Renco mine, Zimbabwe: in Anhaeusser C R, Maske S, (eds),  Mineral Deposits of Southern Africa Geol. Soc. of South Africa, Johannesburg   v1 pp 221-230
                        • Kisters A F M, Kolb J, Meyer F M  1998 - Gold mineralization in high-grade metamorphic shear zones of the Renco mine, southern Zimbabwe: in    Econ. Geol.   v93 pp 587-601
                        • Kolb J, Kisters A F M, Hoernes S, Meyer F M   2000 - The origin of fluids and nature of fluid-rock interaction in mid-crustal auriferous mylonites of the Renco mine, southern Zimbabwe: in    Mineralium Deposita   v35 pp 109-125 
                        • Kolb J, Meyer F M  2002 - Fluid inclusion record of the hypozonal orogenic Renco Gold deposit (Zimbabwe) during the retrograde P-T evolution: in    Contrib. to Mineralogy & Petrology   v143 pp 495-509
                        • Falcon Gold of Zimbabwe (Falgold, ZSE:FALGOLD) will not open its closed gold mine because of an unprofitable gold pricing regime in the country, an executive said in February, 2007. Falgold financial director, Gary Perrotti, said the gold mining firm was not expecting to open Venice Mine in Kadoma soon because of low price and delayed payments for deliveries by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ). Fidelity Printers and Refineries, a subsidiary of the RBZ is the sole buyer of gold produced in Zimbabwe. Besides the closed Venice Mine in Kadoma, Falgold also runs Dalny Mine in Chakari and Golden Quarry Mine in Shurugwi.
                        • New Dawn Mining Corporation reported in December 2012 it had recorded a 123 percent increase in proven and probable mineral reserves to 494 400 ounces of gold grading 1,52g/t from 10 145 700 tonnes of mineralised material which is an increase of 272 600 ounces of gold.
                          The Zimbabwe-focused gold producer also said it has recorded a 44,1 percent increase in measured and indicated mineral resources to 2 290 500 ounces of gold grading 2,14g/t from 33 357 400 tonnes of mineralised material which is an increase of 700 500 ounces of gold.
                          This is in addition to a 9,1 percent increase in inferred mineral resources to 607 500 ounces of gold grading 4,29g/t from 4 401 000 tonnes of mineralised material which is an increase of 50 500 ounces of gold.
                          New Dawn is a junior gold company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange with 45 612 383 common shares outstanding that is focused on developing its gold mining operations in Zimbabwe.
                          New Dawn owns 100 percent of the Turk and Angelus, Old Nic and the Camperdown Mines. In addition, through its Falcon Gold Zimbabwe Limited ("Falgold") subsidiary, New Dawn currently owns approximately 85 percent of the Dalny, Golden Quarry and Venice Mines, and a portfolio of prospective exploration acreage in Zimbabwe.
                          With the exception of the Venice Mine, all of these mines are currently in production and are divided into three major gold camps.
                          New Dawn owns approximately 85 percent of the shares of its Falgold subsidiary, with the remaining approximately 15 percent of the shares being owned by other shareholders and traded on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.
                          Meanwhile, the company says it is still in the process of acquiring the shares of Falgold that it does not already own, in accordance with the pending Falgold Scheme of Arrangement.
                          The acquisition of the Falgold minority shares by New Dawn is intended to facilitate implementation of New Dawn's proposed Plan of Indigenisation at the Zimbabwe subsidiary level.
                          "The Falgold Scheme of Arrangement is conditional upon, and will not become effective until, the satisfaction of the remaining conditions precedent, which consist primarily of the receipt of necessary regulatory approvals in Zimbabwe. The satisfaction of the conditions precedent could take up to several months," said the New Dawn statement. The company reported a revenue of US$14,8 million for the quarter ended March 31 2012. The revenue increase was a 86,1 percent increase from last year's similar quarter revenue of US$7,9 million, which was largely driven by a significantly higher gold prices during the period under review. The company has said its operating cash flows are being re-invested in Zimbabwe to fund 2012 expansion and development plans. The Toronto Stock Exchange-listed New Dawn owns 100 percent of the Turk, Angelus the Old Nic Mine and the Camperdown Mine. In addition, it also owns approximately 85 percent of the Dalny Mine, the Golden Quarry Mine, and the Venice Mine (currently not in operation), and a portfolio of prospective exploration acreage in the country. During the quarter just ended, the average sales price per ounce of gold sold was US$1 685, compared to US$1 389 for the quarter ended March 2011 quarter. New Dawn's gold sales for the latest quarter, however, declined 3,8 percent compared to the December quarter figure of US$15 440 766. The company attributed the decrease in gold sales to production issues related to the Turk and Angelus Mine. "Gold production at the company's Turk and Angelus Mine for the quarter ended March 31 was 2 763 ounces. "This production decrease was the result of the impact of a short-term work stoppage in January 2012, and certain geological, structural and technical mining issues at the Turk and Angelus Mine that are now largely identified and understood," said the company in a statement. New Dawn has, however, said it is in the process of implementing a new mine plan that addresses the aforementioned technical mining issues. It therefore does not expect a significant improvement in production or operating costs at the Turk and Angelus Mine until this plan has been fully implemented over the next several quarters. Other than at the Turk and Angelus Mine, the company's mining operations had a combined increase in gold production of approximately 14,5 percent during the latest quarter compared to the previous quarter. Total gold production for the quarter under review of 8 736 ounces was a 4 percent decrease from the December quarter figure of 9 095 ounces. On a year-on-year basis, however, the current output was 40,3 percent higher than the comparable period last year. New Dawn says a drilling programme at its Camperdown Mine gold project, part of the company's Gweru Gold Camp located in the Shurugwi District, is underway and should be completed in six months' time, with analysis of the drilling results set for completion by the end of this year. Based on the results of this drilling programme, the company said it may consider additional exploratory work to further define and develop Camperdown. New Dawn also says it is still holding discussions with the Government over its indigenisation compliance plan. Last month, the the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board wrote to New Dawn proposing for the company's consideration a modification in the allocation of equity and the form of consideration to be paid by the respective recipients. In a letter dated April 27, the company responded, requesting clarification for the basis of NIEEB's proposal and also noting a number of significant issues that needed to be addressed and awaits further communication from the NIEEB. New Dawn has since said it is in the process of engaging with various indigenous investor groups and potential financing sources with respect to an investment in the company as part of its compliance plan.

                           Meikles Mulls Acquiring Gold, Diamond Mines
                          BY CHRIS MURONZI, 30 AUGUST 2013
                          MEIKLES Centar Mining has cast acquisitive glances at Zimbabwe mining assets amid indications the company is planning to make a grand entrance onto the country's mining scene, businessdigest has established. A well-placed source said Meikles Centar, a joint venture between Meikles Africa Ltd and Centar Asia Resources, was looking at acquiring gold and diamond mining assets in the country's mining sector and had toured various assets in the country with a view to acquiring them. The sources added Meikles Centar is planning to make an ostentatious entry into the mining sector by acquiring strategic and existing gold and diamond assets. Meikles Centar last year tried to obtain a diamond mining licence from government but it is not clear if it was approved. While Meikles Africa Ltd has obtained special mining grants in the Midlands province for various minerals including iron ore and chrome, the group is not in any rush to develop a mine. Instead, sources said Meikles Centar was looking at already developed mines in the country such as Caledonia (gold), New Dawn (gold), African Consolidated Resources (ACR) (gold, diamonds)and Mwana Africa plc (gold, nickel and diamonds). The sources said Meikles Centar's bid for Caledonia would be problematic given the mining group is fully indigenised. Another possible takeover target, New Dawn, whose share price has collapsed over the past couple of weeks owing to high production costs, general operational challenges and the uncertainty surrounding the company's future given it is not yet indigenised, could be ripe for the picking. New Dawn's share price is trading at 0,25 Canadian cents from a 52-week high of CDN$1,21. The company is now worth a mere CDN$11,40 million, compared to CDN$55,18 million at its peak. New Dawn owns 100% of the Turk and Angelus Mine, the Old Nic Mine and the Camperdown Mine. In addition, New Dawn owns approximately 85% of the Dalny Mine, the Golden Quarry Mine and the Venice Mine (currently not in operation), and a portfolio of prospective exploration acerage in Zimbabwe ACR, which lost its key diamond resources in the Marange diamond fields, could also fit into Meikles Centar's plans given its gold reserves. A likely target, sources said, would be Mwana Africa, which owns Freda Rebecca, the largest gold mine in Zimbabwe and the Bindura Nickel mines. Sources said Meikles Centar could take advantage of its London city links to make a bid for Mwana Africa Plc given that one of Centar Asia Resources directors and founders was a high flying executive at a leading UK investment bank. Buoyed by this, sources said, Meikles Centar might target Mwana's Freda Rebecca and make the acquisition a spectacular entry into the mining sector. Centar Asia Resources, which was founded in June 2011 by Ian Hannam, a former JP Morgan Cazenove rainmaker who was fined by the Financial Services Authority over market abuse allegations and irregular share dealings in London Stock Exchange-listed companies earlier this year and was unceremoniously forced to step down from JP Morgan bank, could muscle their way into Mwana Africa Plc. Hannam holds 45% of Centar and has a number of other investors who collectively control close to 30% of Mwana and have close links to Centar. Jan Kulczyk's company, Kulczyk Investments, owns 28% of Centar and Kulczyk is chairperson of the company. So far, they are said to have injected US$40 million into Centar. Reports last week said Meikles Centar Mining was ready to invest up to US$500 million. Hannam was drawn into the prospect of developing Afghanistan's mineral wealth initially by the US State Department which was keen to help promote foreign investment in that country. Another director, Richard Williams, who has been in and out of the Asian country touring various mining assets with a view to helping raise funding, acquire and add value to the mining companies the UK-based firm had identified, is a former high ranking British military officer. Williams served with the UK's Special Forces, the 7th Armoured Brigade (as the Brigade Chief of Staff), the paratroopers, infantry, and on the Directing Staff of the Joint Services Command and Staff College. This service enabled him to participate in military operations in Northern Ireland, Bosnia (with UNPROFOR), South America, Kosovo, Macedonia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, West Africa, and the Horn of Africa, as well as numerous UK mainland-based counter-terrorist operations. He was in active command of troops during all of these deployments, with the exception of his time in Kosovo, where he served as Chief of Staff of the Multi-National Brigade (Centre) and wrote a manual on offensive doctrine for Peace Support Operations. Apart from Williams' military backgrounds, sources say the other directors have served in the Rhodesian army and its notorious Selous Scouts regiment, something sources in the mining industry said was a concern to most of the companies Centar had approached, amid fears such firms might be misconstrued by President Robert Mugabe's regime, which is blatantly anti-British. But sources said the Meikles Centar venture faces many hurdles because of indigenisation issues in the country, particularly in light of the fact that Meikles Africa Ltd itself was not a fully indigenised entity. The sources said an acquisition of a local business that would see a foreign company emerging with a controlling stake was potentially problematic given Mugabe's insistence indigenous players must have a controlling stake in mines. Authorities are also worried about the background of the main shareholders who have military backgrounds in the British SAS and Rhodesian Selous Scouts. Mugabe refused to swear in a senior MDC-T figure -- Roy Bennet -- because he served as a Rhodesian Selous Scout. Mugabe has also stepped up his anti-British rhetoric since elections, saying his government might want to take action on companies owned by British citizens such as Centar. Others interpreted the threat as an intent to take over British firms. The sources said should Centar make a bid to take over Mwana, an asset such as Bindura Nickel Corporation, which is currently struggling to stay afloat, could be closed until international nickel prices improve, throwing close to a thousand people on the street. But the sources said Meikles' executive chairperson John Moxon, once targeted by Zanu PF bigwigs during the controversial Kingdom Meikles Africa Ltd demerger saga for allegedly externalising foreign currency, will however try to pull his political strings to ensure Centar buys a meaningful gold asset. This, sources said, could be very problematic in the current climate in which the country is pushing for significant ownership of the mining sector by indigenous black Zimbabweans. Moxon, who reportedly played an important role in the acquisition of an assortment of single and double-cab 4×4 vehicles for the now ruling Zanu PF party, including several Toyota Hilux, Nissan NP300, Ford Ranger and Mazda BT50 off-road vehicles, is now seen as a Zanu PF sympathiser. Curiously, around the time of the donation, Moxon's flagship company Meikles Africa Ltd, formed a mining arm, Meikles Resources (Pvt) Ltd, applied for a diamond mining licence which was being considered by the Mines and Mining Development ministry, with government's Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation as a possible partner in a joint venture. Meikles Africa itself has not fully complied with the indigenisation policy. It is still not clear whether the Meikles vehicle donation was linked to the company's application for the diamond mining licence. However, sources said this could not be ruled out. Efforts to reach Williams proved fruitless at the time of going to press. Attempts to contact Meikles financial director Onias Makamba were also unsuccessful.
                        • Central African Gold plc (AIM:CAN) will acquire two operational Zimbabwean greenstone gold mining companies for $6,2m in cash and shares to add to its gold project in Ghana, Bibiani, which it acquired from AngloGold Ashanti in December 2006 for $40 m, lifting the group’s gold output to 80,000 oz in 2007. The Zimbabwean project could produce more than 100,000 oz within five years for an injection of cash of some $30m into the five opencast and underground mines and four metallurgical plants. The company is buying an 85% stake in Falcon Gold, the Zimbabwe-listed gold company, and all of the unlisted Olympus Gold Mines for a $4,5m in cash and an issuance of nine million new shares. The two cash-starved Zimbabwean companies produced 21,031 oz in the year 2006 to end-September. The JORC compliant reserves stand at 632,000 oz and there are estimated resources of 2,5 million oz. Falgold includes the Dalny mine, south west of Harare, which has a mine life of seven years at current reserves. CAR believes there is potential for the development of an open pit, low grade, bulk-mining operation within the greater Dalny shear zone. Falgold also owns Golden Quarry, an operational underground mine approximately 200 km from Bulawayo, and the Venice mine, currently on care and maintenace, but with great exploration potential.
                          Olympus operates the Old Nic mine near Bulawayo with a current life of two years and owns the Camperdown mine, south east of Gweru, which has both an open pit and underground operation with a mine life of seven years.
                          The two companies also hold 12,300 hectares of ground considered geologically prospective.
                        • Caledonia Mining Corporation acquired the Blanket Mine in Zimbabwe from Kinross Gold Corporation of Toronto. Mineral Reserves total 3,2 million tonnes with an average grade of 4.24 grams per tonne and contain 439,600 ounces of gold. Blanket Mine currently mills 600 tonnes per day of underground ore at a grade of 4,1 g/t and produces 2,100 ounces of gold per month. Blanket Mine is part of the group of mines that make up the North Western Mining camp otherwise also called the Sabiwa group of mines. What is today referred to, as Blanket Mine is a cluster of mines extending from Jethro to the south, through Blanket itself, the currently defunct Feudal, AR South, AR Main, Sheet, Eroica and Lima. In addition dormant old showings include Sabiwa from the south, Jean, Provost, Redwick, Old Lima, and Smiler.

                        • MetallonCorporation’s mineral assets in Zimbabwe comprises of four mining operations and significant exploration properties located within a mining land package. The mining companies comprise of four separate underground gold mines: How, Shamva, Redwing and Mazowe; each serviced by its own dedicated processing facilities and accompanying infrastructure. There is also significant exploration potential at all the mining operations, most of which are the subject of active and ongoing exploration.
                        • African Consolidated Resources plc is exploring the Giant and Pickstone-Peerless mines which historically produced approximately 1 million ounces of gold from high-grade underground operations. The two projects currently contain near-surface JORC resources of 820,500 oz, much of which is expected to be open-pittable using modern mining methods.
                        • Mwana Africa plc bought the Freda Rebecca Mine (FRM) from AngloGold Ashanti in April 2005. The Freda Rebecca Mine is located near Bindura, approximately 90 km north east of Harare. It was originally started by Cluff Resources before being sold to Ashanti Goldfields. The mine was opened in 1988 and designed for the production of 100,000 oz of gold a year. It produced on average over 100,000 oz of gold a year from the late 1990’s up to as recently as 2002. Since then its output has severely declined. The Freda Rebecca Mine contains 1,076,000 oz of gold in resource grading 2,4 g/t of which 354,000 oz are proven and probable reserves grading 2,6g/t.
                          The mine is currently producing about 30,000 oz of gold a year, but a program is in place to refurbish the mine to bring production back towards 100,000 oz of gold a year. There are exploration properties in the region of FRM which could extend the life of the mine beyond its current 10 year estimate. Mwana’s Inez Mine, which was purchased by African Gold in July 1995, is 25 km east of Kadoma in the gneissic-granites terrain south of the Chiqatu (Hartley) greenstone belt and 120km south of Harare. The mine has been on care and maintenance due the local economic environment since 2004. A refurbished plant and an underground development program could produce 20,000 oz of gold a year. Mwana Africa, the parent company for Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC) and Freda Rebecca Mine, said in September 2015 it is seeking to raise £3,67 million (about $5,6 million) through a rights offer to be used to develop its South African diamond mine Klipspringer. "The net proceeds of the open offer (after commission and expenses) will be used principally for the further development of the Klipspringer diamond mine in the Republic of South Africa (with the objective of re-commencing underground production), corporate restructuring and re-organisation costs (including satisfying non-recurring exceptional items arising from the June 2015 directorate changes), and for general working capital purposes," it said. Mwana Africa, which also has operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, bought the diamond mine in 2007 but later placed the operations under "care and maintenance" due to viability issues. The resources firm said it had received firm commitments from some shareholders including Chinese International Mining Group Corporation (CIMGC) holding 15,66 percent of existing shares that they will support the fund raising venture. In addition CIMGC, Yat Hoi Ning and Yuan Ching Hu have each confirmed that they intend to apply for Excess Shares pursuant to the Excess Application Facility (subject to scaling back to ensure a maximum holding of no more than 29,9 percent of the Enlarged Share Capital, as described in the Circular)," Mwana Africa said. CIMGC is now the biggest shareholder in Mwana Africa after it recently booted out its founding executive and chairman, Kalaa Mpinga. Mr Yat Hoi Ning is now the executive chairman. Mwana Africa early this year mobilised over $20 million via bond to finance the restart of BNC smelter.
                        • CanAfrican Metals and Mining Corporation acquired a 100% interest in the Indirama Mining Lease located in the central Zimbawean gold belt. The Indirama Mining Lease is a consolidation of more than 18 historical gold mines and showings. It consists of 56 claims and covers 16 square kilometers. Current surface infrastructure consists, among other things, of two mills rated at 600 tonnes per day and 120 tonnes per day and other associated recovery facilities. The mines are fully permitted both for surface and underground mining and for expanded operations. The property was worked in the 1990s by Consolidated Trillion Resources Ltd. (now Viceroy Exploration Ltd.). That company produced from some of the mines on the property and carried out a substantial amount of diamond drilling that formed part of the basis for tonnage and grade calculations. These calculations were done using the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy definitions, which are essentially the same as 43-101 definitions but with more detail. It includes an open pit reserve of 5 million tonnes grading 2,05 g/t Au and the total resource estimate exceeds one million oz. Consolidated Trillion Resources terminated its interest in the property in 1999 due to very low gold prices. The mines have been on care and maintenance since then. Currently there are 120 men on the site operating a 600 tonne per day tailings leach plant.
                        Graphite

                        • Graphit Kropfmühl AG, through Zimbabwe German Graphite Mines (Pvt.) Ltd., operates the Lynx Graphite Mine in the northern part of the country near Karoi, producing approximately 1000 tonnes a month. 
                          • The ore is mined underground from a lenticular ore body running 20%-35% crystalline flake graphite. The ore is beneficiated by flotation to make products containing 80%-83% and 90%-94% graphite.

                          YearProductionUnit of Measure% Change
                          20037675Metric tonsNA
                          200410267Metric tons33.77 %
                          20054298Metric tons-58.14 %
                          20066588Metric tons53.28 %
                          20076000Metric tons-8.93 %
                          20085000Metric tons-16.67 %
                          20092500Metric tons-50.00 %

                        Lithium

                        • Premier African Minerals Ltd's Zulu Project is located in south-central Zimbabwe. Zulu is an advanced exploration project located in an area of known REE mineralisation. Historical exploration results have established Zulu as prospective for lithium and tantalum. An historical Exploration Target estimation of the lithium mineralisation by Rhodesian Selection Trust suggested that 1.4 million tonnes of pegmatite at a possible grade of 1.4 per cent LiO2 may be present. The project comprises structurally controlled lithium bearing pegmatites with historical data from trenches and diamond drillholes. Two types of pegmatite have been identified in the area; both have estimated grades of 1.2% lithium. Recent geological mapping and trenching has extended the strike extent of the pegmatite for approximately 5km. A 2km strike extension to the north has also been defined. Premier has completed a six diamond drillhole programme and taken grab samples. These samples indicated tantalum contents of between 220ppm and 1,037ppm and lithium contents ranging between 0.2 per cent. and 0.7 per cent LiO2. Premier intends, funds permitting, to advance the Zulu Lithium Project by conducting a further 1,000m of trenching and 2,000m of  core drilling with accompanying metallurgical studies with an objective of establishing a code compliant Mineral Resource. The Group has exercised its option to acquire the Zulu Project.

                        Nickel

                        • Mwana Africa plc acquired a controlling stake in Bindura Nickel Corporation from Anglo American Corporation of Zimbabwe in July 2003. Bindura is listed on the Zimbabwean Stock Exchange. Bindura operates two nickel mines: Shangani which is 100 km from Bulawayo on the Harare road and Trojan which is near the town of Bindura, about 100km north east of Harare. Both mines produce concentrates which are processed at the smelter and refinery at Bindura. Bindura produces about 11,000 tonnes of refined nickel per annum of which about 7,000 tonnes are own production and the balance is toll material from Botswana and South Africa. The mine lives at Shangani and Trojan are currently estimated to be approximately four years and nine years respectively (52,440 t proved and probable reserve and 210,950 t measured, indicated and inferred resources.) The Trojan shaft is currently being deepened by some 600 metres to access new reserves which are open at depth, which potentially will extend the life of the mine for up to 10 further years. The Shangani mine is open at depth to a limited extent and a study is currently underway to determine how best to extend the shaft system to access its additional resources. Bindura has also completed a feasibility study on the Hunters Road claim, between Kwekwe and Gweru, which will extend the mine's lifespan to 2022. Hunters Road has up to 30 million tonnes of ore.
                        Bindura Nickel

                        Platinum

                        Note on the geology of the Great Dyke in Zimbabwe
                        Source: Implats

                        The Great Dyke in Zimbabwe is a layered complex that extends for 550 km and has a maximum width of 11 km. The stratigraphy is broadly divided between a lower ultramafic and an overlying mafic sequence. The ultramafic sequence hosts the P1 pyroxenite, directly below the mafic-ultramafic contact, which, in turn, hosts the economic PGM-bearing main sulphide zone (MSZ). The MSZ is generally 2 m to 3 m thick.

                        YearProductionUnit of Measure% Change
                        20021943KilogramsNA
                        20033449Kilograms77.51 %
                        20043564Kilograms3.33 %
                        20053879Kilograms8.84 %
                        20064022Kilograms3.69 %
                        20074180Kilograms3.93 %
                        20084386Kilograms4.93 %
                        20095680Kilograms29.50 %


                        • Impala Platinum mine in South Africa
                        • Marula Platinum mine ( 87,5%, Tubatse Platinum and the Marula Community Trust-15%, Mmakau Mining -7,5%) in South Africa
                        • Mimosa mine (50%) (Zimbabwe)
                        • Zimplats (86%) (Zimbabwe)
                        • Total reserves, as all categories of mineral resources: 215,100,000 oz
                        • The company has plans to boost production to 2,3 million oz by 2010 and by another 500 000 oz per year of platinum beyond that.
                        • Zimbabwe Platinum Mines Ltd (Impala) [ASX:ZIM] mines in Zimbabwe and produced 86,800 oz in 2005
                        • Reserves, proved and probable, of 14,100,000 oz platinum
                        • Resource of 140,800,000 oz platinum at a grade of 3.52 g/t.
                        • Zimbabwe Platinum Mines commissioned a new underground mine at Ngezi under phase one of its ambitious US$258 million long-term expansion programme at the end of April 2007. The underground mine, named Bimha Mine, is expected to increase ore production to 4,5 million tonnes per year and boost platinum output to about 160 000 ounces annually when it comes into full production in 2009.
                          In addition, Zimplats will produce 130 000 ounces of palladium, as well as significant quantities of gold, nickel and copper.

                          Zimplats
                        • Kroondal Mine (South Africa)
                        • Marikana Mine (South Africa)
                        • Mimosa Mine (50%) (Zimbabwe)
                        • Chromite Tailings Retreatment Plant (South Africa)
                        • Everest Mine being established, planned production 225,000 oz per annum (South Africa)
                        • Total reserves, proved and probable, 3PGE+Au: 9,410,000 oz
                        Mimosa Platinum Mine

                        Mining mogul Rautenbach to develop Zim's third largest platinum mine (Source: Mineweb)

                         Rare Earth Elements
                        • Premier African Minerals Ltd's Katete REE Project located in the Province of Matabeleland North, close to the border with Zambia, comprises 25 Mineral Claim Blocks and is primarily prospective for Rare Earth Elements (REE). Premier has the right to explore and mine within the claims block. The British Atomic Energy Commission identified carbonatite at the project site in the 1950s. Subsequently, Anglo-American conducted exploration in the 1960s. Previous exploration has identified prospective rare earth mineralisation. Target mineralisation includes Dysprosium, Cerium, Thorium, Lanthanum, Samarium and Yttrium. Results from a trenching programme conducted by Premier in 2011 indicated that the highest total rare earth oxide (TREO) value was 14.6% (13.2% cerium and 0.6% lanthanum), with an average of 1.74% TREO. Premier recently completed a drilling programme of seven drillholes for a total of 1,187 metres. Initial assay results of four drillholes indicated that TREO distribution is consistent with depth and several samples displayed TREO contents > 3 per cent. over varying widths from 1 metre to 4 metres. Premier believes that the current high prices for REEs and the continued demand for REE oxides make Katete a particularly promising prospect. Premier is planning to complete initial mineralogical and metallurgical studies followed by the establishment of a code compliant Mineral Resource, justifying the commencement of a preliminary economic study. The Lubimbi Project comprises 9 Mineral Claim Blocks which are prospective for xenotime, a yttrium phosphate that can be a source of rare earth elements. Premier intends, funds permitting, to conduct further mapping and rock chip sampling to define the extent of the mineralised horizon. 

                        Project                                                 Resource
                        1 Katete                                                    REE
                                3.Zulu                                                   Lithium, Tantalum
                        2.RHA                                                    Tungsten
                        4.Tinde                                                     Fluorspar
                        5.Lubimbi                                                     REE


                        •  Kamativi Tin Mines (Defunct and owned by ZMDC) Tin mining took place in 5 distinct localities along a pegmatite belt striking ENE for 50 km in an area located 290 kilometers northwest of Bulawayo, 29 km off the main tarred road linking this major city to the Victoria Falls and Zambia. The road leading to Kamativi as well as some of the roads in the central mining and beneficiation complex are paved. The central mining complex is connected to the national Zimbabwean electricitiy grid and has the infrastructure and all the amenities one would expect at a mine that once had more than 700 employees. It also has an adequate supply of water from a permanent dam in the Kamativi River. The complex has been on a care and maintenance basis since 1994, but there has been very little care and no maintenance. Essential mining and plant equipment have been removed for use in other operations of ZMDC. The mines produced 37 000 tonnes of tin from 27 million tonnes of ore milled at a recovery grade of 0,169% Sn. It also produced about 3 000 tonnes of tantalite as a byproduct.. Ore grades fell from an initial average of 0,245% Sn to 0,085% Sn during the operating lifetime of the mines. Opencast operations contributed 70% to total production and underground mining 30%. The open pit floor, as well as the underground workings, is flooded at present. ZMDC estimates the total remaining resource (including proven, probable, possible,indicated and reclamation) at 49,647 million tonnes with an average grade of 0,155% Sn or 77 134 tonnes of contained tin. Tantalite reserves are estimated at 49,647 million tonnes with an average grade of 0,014% Ta₂O₅ or 6 951 tonnes of tantalite. Lithium reserves are estimated at 49,647 million tonnes with an average grade of 0,215% Li₂O or 106,741 tonnes of Li₂O.
                        • Premier African Minerals Ltd's RHA Tungsten Project is located in an area of historic production, approximately 270km northwest of Bulawayo. Premier is targeting a compliant indicated resource of up to 10 million tonnes at a grade of   0.12% to 0.17% WO3 and 86,000 tonnes at 2.25% WO3. The project comprises 50 Mineral Claim Blocks, covering 1,800 hectares, consisting of 10 owned by Premier and 40 which are under option. Small-scale surface and underground mining was conducted at the site between 1931 and 1979. Total production from the RHA and Tung Mines was 1,247.65 tonnes of wolframite concentrate, containing 65% WO3. The deposit is approximately 800m in strike length and 300m wide. Historic non-compliant Exploration Target estimates of the surface open cast, low grade mineralisation, as well as low grade overburden and higher grade underground resources below the 926m level, suggest that approximately 100,000 tonnes of ore may be available, grading at 0.75% WO3. Accessible from the main Bulawayo-Hwange tar road, RHA has good potential to be brought into production rapidly with a favourable stripping ratio. Premier has completed 1,302 metres of drilling to date with assay results awaited. The Group has also embarked on an independent conceptual study with a view to establishing a code compliant resource and an early assessment of the potential to bring the mine back into production. 
                          Premier African Minerals has completed the open pit mine design for its Kamativi tungsten project paving way for the mining concern to start developing the project. An implementation study on open pit has already been completed while metallurgical test programme was completed in September 2014. The mining company has also completed process plant design with tailings storage facility scheduled for January 2015 Premier Africa chief executive Mr George Roach said the company was now at an advanced stage to start the project. He said underground channel sampling started this month while permitting Metallurgical test work was completed by Peacocke and Simpso "Ground water development is underway while underground mine rehabilitation is in full throttle. We have placed an order on the plant. "Road construction, earthworks and civil are ongoing," said Mr Roache. "One thousand kilogramme bulk ore sample from historic underground workings and 2 000kg bulk ore sample from historic tailings have been recorded." He said confirmatory assays and GAT test work was done by SGS, Johannesburg and the test flow sheet includes crush, screen, jig, spiral and tabling. Mr Roache said the mine would require 450 kilowatts while an additional generator and grid line upgrade for the second phase is required. Premier African Minerals Limited is a multi-commodity exploration and development company focused in Southern and West Africa. The group has a diverse portfolio of multi-commodity projects which includes tungsten, rare earth elements, gold, lithium, tantalum and uranium in Zimbabwe and Togo, which span from brownfield projects with near-term production potential to grass-roots exploration The development of the tungsten project in Zimbabwe moved a step forward last year when the firm inked a non-binding memorandum of understanding with an industry off-take partner to supply tungsten from the site, which lies in the Kamativi Tin Belt Premier African Minerals has a 49 percent interest in the Kamativi project while the Government of Zimbabwe the remaining 51 percent.

                        There is a known uranium occurrence at Kanyemba (sandstone, tabular).
                        • Omegacorp had entered into a joint venture with the Zimbabwean company, Lowenbrau Mining Services to explore the Kanyemba uranium deposits. Terms agreed under the deal were to the effect that Omegacorp would have a majority shareholding in the project. Sources in Zimbabwe have revealed that Lowenbrau Mining Services is owned by Robert Zhuwawo, a nephew of President Mugabe while Omegacorp - which had staved off the competition of eight other companies - is believed to have had the backing of Apollo Group, an Australian resource based investment and corporate advisory firm at the time of bidding. When awarding Omegacorp the deal last year, Zimbabwe's Mining Affairs Board announced that it had carried out an assessment and research into OmegaCorp and that the board had ultimately cleared the Australian company for the joint venture with Lowenbrau. However in an interview with an international news publication, Zimbabwe's Mines And Mining Development Minister said that the Zimbabwean government had decided that the mining of uranium be vested in a state-owned company. "Uranium is a strategic resource and only government can mine it," he said.

                        Economic geology of nonmetal deposits

                        Economic geology of ore deposits

                        Economic geology, general

                        Economic geology, general, deposits

                        Economic geology, general, economics

                        Economic geology, geology of energy sources

                        Economic geology, geology of nonmetal deposits

                        Economic geology, geology of ore deposits

                        Posted by Carel van der Merwe at 11.2.12