Modern Mining May 2018

MINING News

AIM-listed Vast Resources has announced the acquisition from Alpha Resources and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa of a 95 % interest in Delta Gold Zimbabwe (owner of the Eureka gold mine) by its Zimbabwe group company, Dallaglio Investments (Pvt) Ltd. Vast’s economic interest in Dallaglio is 25,01 %. The deal – which results in Vast having a 23,75 % indirect interest in Eureka – is worth US$4,48 million in cash. In addition, Dallaglio will finance Delta Gold for US$1,8 million to meet Delta’s current creditors. Vast’s primary existing asset in Zimbabwe is the Pickstone-Peerless gold mine (in which it has a 25 % indirect interest), located 100 km south-west of Harare. Andrew Prelea, Chief Executive of Vast Resources, commented: “We are extremely pleased to announce the first new acquisition together with our strategic partners in Zimbabwe for many years. This demon- strates our continued belief in Zimbabwe and the ability to find robust assets to add to the Vast portfolio. “The Eureka mine has had historical investment in excess of US$30 million in the late 1990s. We believe this to be a highly attractive acqui- sition target given the size of the resource and level of investment in equipment made to date and I look forward to providing updates regarding development and commissioning at Eureka in the coming months. “The knowledge we have accumulated from our operations at Pickstone-Peerless is invaluable in assessing the true value of dormant mines such as Eureka that can be brought in to commercial production in the near term.” Eureka, which has been on care and maintenance since 2008, is situated about 5 km south-east of Guruve, 300 km from the Pickstone- Peerless mine and 150 km north of Harare. Access to the mine is by an all-weather tarred road from Guruve and then a 3,5 km dirt road to the mine. It was developed as a modern gold mine in 1999 designed to pro- duce approximately 70 000 oz of gold per annum from an open pit before an underground operation was established.  Vast Resources acquires interest in Eureka gold mine Minister visits Prospect’s pilot plant ASX-listed Prospect Resources, which is developing the Acacia lith- ium project, reports that the Zimbabwean Minister for Mines and Mining Development, Winston Chitando, visited the company’s lithium carbonate pilot plant in Kwekwe recently to see first-hand the work that Prospect is doing to create battery grade (+99,5 %) lithium carbonate. Prospect’s lithium carbonate pilot plant is the only such plant in Africa. Prospect is using this facility to provide sample products to potential and future customers around the world and to dem- onstrate Zimbabwe’s technical capability. During the pilot plant visit, the Minister confirmed that inter- national mining companies operating in Zimbabwe will not be required to list on the Zimbabwe stock exchange. “As you have heard from His Excellency the President, Zimbabwe is open for business and we are removing barriers for companies to invest in Zimbabwe to create jobs and wealth for the country,” he said. 

May 2018  MODERN MINING  11