The Zambian government’s majority-owned ZCCM Investments Holdings PLC has started 10 gold milling plants with a combined processing capacity of 30 tonnes per day, targeting average monthly output for 7.5 kilograms of gold.

The milling plants are part of phase one of the company’s gold processing project in Rufunsa under its 45%-owned joint venture, Consolidated Gold Co. Ltd.

About US$3.5 million will be spent on the Rufunsa project, the company said May 13.

Consolidated Gold CEO Faisal Keer said that the business model involves giving various artisanal and small-scale gold miners access to the milling plants to boost gold production.

Reuters reported the same day that Zambia is looking to formalize artisanal and small-scale miners in a bid to tackle informal gold mining and diversify from copper.

The state mining investment company is targeting production of 40,000 kilograms of gold in 2020 from primary as well as secondary sources, the news wire added.

ZCCM approved a proposal in early-January to enter a joint venture to develop a gold processing and trading operation in Zambia with local gold processor Karma Mining Services and Rural Development Co., which holds the remaining 55% stake.

The company noted that next stage of the first phase is also underway, which involves setting up the gold vat leaching plant to chemically process gold stock piles from two old gold mines, and concentrates from the gold milling plants.

The vat leaching plant will have a processing capacity of 8,000 tonnes of ore material per leach and will target gold monthly output of 17.5 kilograms. Completion is scheduled by June and official launch of the project is scheduled for July following production of a few gold dore bars.

The milling and vat leaching plants are expected to produce 25 kilograms per month.

Phase two of the project will involve setting up the same model in Mumbwa district, and is expected to start before year-end.

Zambian Ministry of Mines Permanent Secretary Barnaby Mulenga said in December 2019 that the country aims to boost revenue from gold production by accounting more thoroughly for volumes of the precious metal produced as a byproduct of copper operations, Reuters reported.

Source: https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/zambia-state-jv-starts-processing-gold-from-informal-miners-58619951

Consolidated Gold Company Ltd Commences Phase One Of The Gold Processing Project In Rufunsa.

The Phase involves ten (10) gold milling plants with a processing capacity of 30 tonnes of ore per day, and a targeted average of 7.5 kilograms gold production per month.
The next stage of the Phase is also underway which involves the setting up of the gold vat leaching plant in Rufunsa. The plant is aimed at chemically processing the gold stock piles from two old gold mines, and concentrates from the gold milling plants.

Gold US$1,717/oz vs US$1,703/oz yesterday – Zambia to begin processing artisanal gold 

Zambia has built 10 milling plants to process gold produced by informal miners, in attempt to diversify from copper mining- according to the state mining investment company ZCCM-IH. 

The project is being undertaken by Consolidated Gold Company and ZCCM-IH, and is part of a continent-wide push to tackle informal mining of gold which deprives African states of revenue. 

Zambia aims to produce 40,000kg of gold in 2020 from primary and secondary sources, and intend to complete a gold leaching plant with a targeted gold production of 17.5kg per month by June (Reuters). 

The ten milling plants will have a combined processing capacity of 30 tonnes of ore per day and a targeted average of 7.5kg gold production per month (Zambia Daily Mail). 

Source: proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/919584/morning-view—gold-prices-continue-to-rise-on-second-covid-19-wave-fears-919584.html

PHASE one of the Consolidated Gold Company Limited (CGCZ) gold processing project in Rufunsa District has commenced, which will see the establishment of 10 milling plants to produce an average of 7.5Kg of gold per month.

In a statement, Wednesday, ZCCM-IH public relations manager Loisa Mbatha-Kakoma announced that the establishment of the CGCZ gold processing project was underway in Rufunsa following the launch of the state-of-the-art gold testing laboratory in Lusaka in March, this year, established to ascertain the quantity and quality of gold mineral around the country.

The lab, built at a total cost of US $250,000, designed to process about 30 samples per day, is targeted at CGCZ’s operations, starting with Rufunsa, where the company is working with small-scale and artisanal miners.

“Phase one of the CGCZ gold processing project in Rufunsa has commenced. The phase involves 10 gold milling plants with a processing capacity of 30 tonnes of ore per day, and a targeted average of 7.5 kilograms gold production per month. The next stage of the phase is also underway, which involves the setting up of the gold Vat Leaching Plant in Rufunsa. The plant is aimed at chemically processing the gold stock piles from two old gold mines, and concentrates from the gold milling plants. The Vat Leaching Plant, which is scheduled to be completed by June, 2020, will have a processing capacity of 8,000 tonnes of ore material per leach, and a targeted gold production of 17.5 kilograms per month,” read the statement.

“A total of approximately US $3.15 million has been injected in these two production lines, following the successful completion and launch of a gold laboratory. A total of approximately US $3.5 million will be spent on the Rufunsa project.”

According to the statement, ZCCM-IH chief executive officer Mabvuto Chipata undertook a site visit earlier this month to check on progress of the project, and expressed satisfaction that the project was on course, despite a few delays in bringing in the required equipment from manufacturers outside the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ZCCM-IH looks to officially launch the project after next month once a few gold bars are produced, according to Chipata.

CGCZ chief executive officer Faisal Keer, who accompanied Chipata during the site visit, stated that the business model involved working with various artisanal and small-scale gold miners in providing access to the milling plants, with the view to increase their gold production.

He added that CGCZ was also helping licensed small-scale gold miners with mining technical expertise and safety, and also providing access to earth-moving machinery to increase gold ore production that was subsequently processed using the milling plants.

And phase two of the project, which will involve setting-up the same model in Mumbwa District, is expected to start before the end of the year.

CGCZ is a gold processing and trading joint venture partnership between Karma Mining Services and Rural Development (55 per cent) and ZCCM-IH (45 per cent).

ZCCM-IH has started buying gold from artisanal and small-scale gold miners as one of the steps towards the formalisation of gold mining and trading activities.

ZCCM-IH’s national target for gold from both primary and secondary sources is 40 tonnes or 40,000Kgs, and will be offering a competitive price for gold from the local market, pegged at a starting price of K550 per gram.

 Sources: https://diggers.news/business/2020/05/14/gold-company-starts-processing-project-in-rufunsa/

LUSAKA, May 13 (Reuters) – Zambia has built 10 milling plants to process gold in a drive to formalise artisanal and small-scale miners and diversify from copper mining, state mining investment company ZCCM-IH said on Wednesday.

The project is being undertaken by Consolidated Gold Company Ltd (CGCZ), a gold processing and trading joint venture between Karma Mining Services and Rural Development and ZCCM-IH.

Zambia’s efforts are part of a continent-wide push to tackle informal mining of gold, which is driven by poverty and unemployment, poses health and environmental risks and deprives states of revenue when the metal is smuggled across borders.

Africa’s second-largest copper producer, Zambia aims to produce 40,000 kg of gold in 2020 from primary and secondary sources including gold bought from artisanal and small-scale miners at government-controlled buying centres.

The milling plants have a combined processing capacity of 30 tonnes of ore per day and a targeted average of 7.5 kilograms gold production per month, ZCCM-IH said.

A gold leaching plant with a processing capacity of 8,000 tonnes of ore material per leach, and a targeted gold production of 17.5 kilograms per month will be completed by June, it said.

“The plant is aimed at chemically processing the gold stock piles from two old gold mines, and concentrates from the gold milling plants,” the statement said.

The project aims to reach gold production of 25 kg per month from the milling and leaching plants by the end of 2020, ZCCM-IH said.

In March, ZCCM-IH started buying gold from artisanal and small-scale miners whose ranks have swelled worldwide as gold prices soar.

ZCCM-IH is now buying gold for at least 600 kwacha ($33.33) per gram, with prices increasing according to purity – a competitive option compared to prices of around 500 kwacha in the open market, a spokeswoman said.

The ZCCM-IH price still represents a significant discount to the price of gold on the world market, which has ranged between around $58 and $61 a gram over the past month.

Disruptions to supply chains due to the COVID-19 pandemic have depressed local gold prices, hurting subsistence miners all over the world.

As the state seeks to benefit more from large-scale mining too, Zambia in December said it plans to make copper mining companies account for the gold they produce as a by-product of the copper mining process.

First Quantum Minerals’ Kansanshi Mine, the only mine that has been declaring its gold production, produced 4,200 kg of gold in 2018. ($1 = 18.0000 Zambian kwachas) (Reporting by Chris Mfula; Editing by Helen Reid and William Maclean)

Source: https://af.reuters.com/article/zambiaNews/idAFL8N2CV2UE

Zambia is hoping to produce 40,000 kilograms (about 1.4 million ounces) of gold a year from primary and secondary or artisanal and small-scale producers, said Reuters citing a statement by ZCCM-IH, the state-owned copper miner.

ZCCM-IH has overseen the construction of 10 milling plants that will firstly formalise the artisanal gold sector and, secondly, help diversify the southern Africa country’s economy away from copper.

The project is being undertaken by Consolidated Gold Company Ltd (CGCZ), a gold processing and trading joint venture between Karma Mining Services and Rural Development and ZCCM-IH, said Reuters.

The push to formalise the secondary production is part of a continent-wide push to tackle the risks associated with artisanal mining, regarded for unsafe mining practices and law-breaking. In its plan, gold will be bought from artisanal and small-scale miners at government-controlled buying centres.

The milling plants have a combined processing capacity of 30 tons of ore per day and a targeted average of 7.5kg gold production per month, ZCCM-IH said. A gold leaching plant with a processing capacity of 8,000 tons of ore material per leach, and a targeted gold production of 17.5 kilograms per month will be completed by June, it said.

“The plant is aimed at chemically processing the gold stock piles from two old gold mines, and concentrates from the gold milling plants,” ZCCM-IH’s statement said.

First Quantum Minerals’ Kansanshi Mine, the only mine that has been declaring its gold production, produced 4,200 kg of gold in 2018, said Reuters.

Source: https://www.miningmx.com/news/gold/41831-zambia-targets-40000-kg-of-gold-in-2020-as-attempts-to-formalise-artisanal-mining-sector/

Phase One of the gold processing project by Consolidated Gold Company Limited -CGCZ- has started in Rufunsa.

The project involves 10 gold milling plants with a processing capacity of 30 tonnes of ore per day and a production target of an average 7.5 kilograms per month.

ZCCM-IH Public Relations Manager, Loisa Kakoma has confirmed to ZNBC News adding that the next stage of the project is also underway and involves the setting up of a gold leaching plant which will chemically process gold stock piles from two old gold mines.

The gold leaching plant is scheduled to be completed by June 2020 and will have a processing capacity of 8,000 tonnes of ore material per leach and a targeted gold production of 17.5 kilograms per month.

The total targeted gold production envisaged is 25 kilograms per month from both the milling and leaching plants.

ZCCM-IH has invested approximately 3.15 Million dollars in the two production lines, following the successful completion and launch of a gold laboratory, set at a total cost of 250,000 dollars in Lusaka.

And, ZCCM-IH Chief Executive Officer Mabvuto Chipata, who recently visited the site to check on progress, is impressed that the project is on course despite a few delays in bringing in equipment from manufacturers outside the country due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Chipata said ZCCM-IH planned to officially launch the project by July 2020 once a few gold dore bars are produced.

And, CGCZ Chief Executive Officer Faisal Keer said the business model involves working with various artisanal and small scale gold miners in providing access to the milling plants, with the view to increase gold production.

Mr Keer said the company is also helping licensed small scale gold miners with mining technical expertise and safety, and also providing access to earth moving machinery to increase gold ore production that is subsequently processed using the milling plants

Phase two of the project, which will involve setting-up of the same model in Mumbwa District is expected to start before the end of the year.

CGCZ, is a gold processing and trading Joint Venture partnership between Karma Mining Services and Rural Development with 55 percent while ZCCM-IH has 45 percent .

Source: https://www.znbc.co.zm/news/rufunsa-starts-gold-processing/?fbclid=IwAR12RSJF3RVVufLTUBFw6NRqJbgFbxWs6ekJCb5edNkaHAeeQ5NC9ZeiHIQ