As if they were going to the races, Emma Musako and Monica Mhango showed up in their finest outfits to attend a meeting on the health, social and environmental impacts of uranium mining. They came because they, like the other attendees, no longer want to remain uninformed citizens.
The credibility of the world's "blood diamond" monitoring group has been damaged after its failure this week to suspend Zimbabwe despite overwhelming evidence of serious human rights abuses and smuggling in the Marange diamond fields in eastern Zimbabwe, Human Rights Watch said today.
Zimbabwe's rough diamond trade has escaped a six-month suspension by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) - an international initiative to stem the flow of conflict diamonds - after its own investigating team recommended earlier in 2009 that the country be temporarily barred from importing and exporting the gems.
The government's campaign to lobby for support of the country's continued participation in the global diamond trade has paid off, with the country escaping a ban by international diamond regulatory body, the Kimberley Process.
ZIMBABWE has placed the blame for not complying with the principles of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KP) on the global diamond trade regulator itself, saying the watchdog has reneged on technical assistance to the country.
Senior officials of a Chinese firm, SINOSTEEL, which is carrying out the project, visited the mining sites on Wednesday.
THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) last week started buying bonds it had issued to gold miners in February this year after it failed to pay for deliveries made by miners. This is a surprise move especially at a time when the RBZ governor, Gideon Gono, had confirmed that the central bank had not been receiving fiscal support since the beginning of the year.
MWANA Africa has secured US$10 million funding for Freda Rebecca Mine from the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa. This loan facility is expected to enable Mwana to accelerate the implementation of the mine's refurbishment programme which is expected to spur the gold mining company's output to more than 50 000 ounces of gold per year.
Villagers in the TDA have been wondering about the impact on sand mining on their environment especially in this era of climate change when rising ocean level and floods are becoming common occurrence. This is why interviews were made with the people at Katong to know their concerns.
The Erongo region has been experiencing a uranium boom due to increases in the price of uranium over the past few years.
AS ANY childcare expert will tell you, if you want to get difficult kiddies to behave, it's best to try to reinforce the positives, not just berate them for the negatives.
MINING companies can start registering now for their obligation to pay tax under the Mining Royalties Act and are being urged to discuss with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) the details of how the act will apply to their particular operations.
THE Osukuru community in Tororo district has been asked to withdraw a civil matter they filed against an investor seeking to explore phosphate deposits in Osukuru hills.
THE Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa has approved the provision of up to US$10 million debt funding for the Freda Rebecca gold mine in Zimbabwe.
THE African National Congress (ANC) yesterday emphatically said it had no intention of nationalising SA mines, saying no party leader would "make policy pronouncements" based on "sentiment" .
