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Golden Sibanda Senior Business Reporter
Mwana Africa says it has achieved major milestones in terms of operations and the financial performance of its Zimbabwe subsidiaries and this is reflecting in the group’s share price.
The London Alternative Investment Market-listed multi-commodity conglomerate has two major operations in Zimbabwe namely Bindura Nickel Corporation and Freda Rebecca.

Mwana’s share is currently trading around 1,45 pence and reached a 52-week high of 5,63p and low of 1,10p during the same period. Mwana believes the northward trend is due to the turnaround success it has achieved in the past year.

“Operationally, in respect of both Freda Rebecca and BNC, we have turned major corners and this has started to reflect in share price recovery, certainly off a low base,” Mwana said.

“There are very few junior companies with two productive mines (BNC and Freda Rebecca) and a very successful exploration program in extremely complicated jurisdiction,” Mwana said.

“We believe the market will come to realise this. A stable base from which to drive strategy implementation “from the front” is now the priority, and the board fully recognises this”.

BNC, Mwana’s Zimbabwe Stock Exchange listed nickel extractor, which also owns Africa’s only integrated smelter and refinery was put under care and maintenance at the height of the economic crisis in 2008, is strongly back on its feet.

Mwana’s Freda Rebecca, having restarted operations in 2009, produced 65 350oz of gold in the 12 months to March 2013. Freda Rebecca produced 32 252oz of gold in the six months to September 2013 (September 30, 2012, 36 335oz).

Mwana Africa Plc (Mwana) is a pan-African, multi-commodity mining and development company. Mwana’s principal operations and exploration activities cover gold, nickel, copper and diamonds in Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Africa.

The restart of operations at the Trojan Nickel Mine owned by Mwana’s Zimbabwe subsidiary BNC, follows four years during which all of the BNC assets were on care and maintenance.

In September 2012, Bindura Nickel Corporation carried out a restructuring and recapitalisation involving US$23 million being invested into BNC which has allowed it to restart the Trojan with the First sale of concentrate to global commodity trader, Glencore taking place in April 2013.

In February 2013, Mwana announced that gold resource at its Zani-Kodo project in the DRC increased to 2,6 million oz, tests carried out on samples from the Kodo main ore body found the ore to be non-refractory and showed higher than 90 percent gold extraction across all the recovery methods tested.

In February 2013, Mwana signed a joint venture agreement with Zhejiang Hailiang Limited to jointly explore some of its copper licence areas in the Katanga Province of the DRC.

Mwana said as at September 2013, eight targets had been delineated at Lunsano. Reverse Circulation drilling has started at Lunsano. Other targets were delineated at Kitemena East, Kawesitu North, Lutobwe, Kifita, and Lukosombi.

A joint venture agreement was signed with Greenhurst Mining and Exploration to retreat fine residue tailings at the Klipspringer (SA) diamond mine on a profit share basis. Site preparation, construction of the processing plant and erection on site was completed by the end of the interim period.

Mwana said the departure of Mr Mark Wellesley-Wood as non-executive chairman, resulted from a difference of opinion between him and the board regarding Mwana’s leadership direction, structure and roles in the company going forward.

“You will recall that Mark’s mining and corporate finance experiences were a major draw-card in inviting him to the post of non-executive chairman, and the board is grateful to him, during his tenure, for his generous contributions in these areas, and indeed for his characteristic independence.

“In our search for a permanent successor as chairman, we will seek to identify candidates with similar qualities of mining and finance experience, given the group’s focus on improving operating and financial performance through implementing agreed strategies and plans already in place”.