Latest news with #MiningDevelopment
Zawya
7 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Zimbabwe's Minister of Mines Joins African Mining Week 2025
Winston Chitando, Zimbabwe's Minister of Mines and Mining Development, has confirmed his participation as a speaker at the upcoming African Mining Week (AMW) - Africa's premier gathering for mining stakeholders. During the event, Minister Chitando is expected to outline strategic investment opportunities across the country's mining industry, while highlighting the impact of recent regulatory reforms. Minister Chitando will join African mining ministers at the high-level Ministerial Forum, which will spotlight investment opportunities across Africa's mining jurisdictions. Themed, From Extraction to Transformation: African Governments Driving Beneficiation and Value Addition, the forum will feature presentations from ministers on national strategies to enhance local value addition and increase mineral resource revenues. African Mining Week serves as a premier platform for exploring the full spectrum of mining opportunities across Africa. The event is held alongside the African Energy Week: Invest in African Energies 2025 conference from October 1-3 in Cape Town. Sponsors, exhibitors and delegates can learn more by contacting sales@ With Minister Chitando's participation, AMW 2025 will showcase how Zimbabwe is making strides in advancing local content policies and prioritizing community development. The government is reforming its Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill to make community investment mandatory for mining firms, ensuring that mining activities translate into direct social and economic benefits for local populations. Beyond community development, AMW 2025 will explore how the country is strengthening its mineral processing capabilities, particularly in the lithium sector. Following the December 2022 ban on raw lithium exports, the country has attracted over $1 billion in new lithium processing investments. Notable developments include the $310 million investment by British and Chinese firms at the 3-million-ton-per-year Sandawana lithium mine; a $300 million upgrade to the Bikita Lithium Mine by Sinomine Resources; a new 300-ton-per-day processing facility in Mutoko by Rwizi Rukuru; and a further $300 million investment by ZHEJIANG Huayou Cobalt at the Arcadia lithium facility. In a broader move to integrate mining with industrial production, Zimbabwe launched the $3.6 billion Palm River Energy Metallurgical Special Economic Zone and Industrial Park in March 2025. Located in Beitbridge, the project comprises a 100,000-ton ferrochrome smelting facility, a 1,200 MW coal-fired power plant, and a 7-million-ton-per-year coal mine. In addition to lithium, Zimbabwe is advancing its gold industry, seeking to increase gold production to 40 tons in 2025. This builds on a 21.22% growth to 36.48 tons in 2024. The upward trend is supported by new discoveries, including positive results from Kavango Resources' drilling program at Prospect 3 of the Hillside Gold Project in Matabeleland Province, signaling Zimbabwe's growing gold potential. In the platinum group metals (PGM) sector, the country targets greater investment and development. With the world's second-largest platinum reserves and high-grade chromium ores, Zimbabwe is working with global partners to enhance its production capacity. Karo Platinum is advancing its new Ngezi platinum mine, targeting 226,000 ounces per annum. Earthworks were completed in May 2025, and the company is currently seeking $140 million in funding to finalize the project. Meanwhile, Anglo American continues its expansion efforts at the Unki Mine, reinforcing Zimbabwe's position as a key player in the global PGM market. AMW represents an ideal platform for Minister Chitando to attract strategic partnerships and investment, further anchoring Zimbabwe's transition from mineral extraction to value-driven industrialization. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital&Power.
CBC
16-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Northern Ontario First Nations fear uphill battle to preserve rights as Bill 5 speeds through legislature
Bill 5 is a broad piece of legislation that has implications for mining development, endangered species, archeology and Indigenous peoples. It's part of the Ford government's "plan to protect Ontario" by cutting "the red tape that has held back major infrastructure, mining and resource development projects." The bill was tabled a few weeks ago and is now slated to be examined by a standing committee at Queen's Park, whom Friends of the Attawapiskat river founder Michel Koostachin is set to address in the coming weeks. What does Bill 5 mean for the Duty to Consult? "There's not going to be any consultations whatsoever with this bill," said Koostachin. The Ford government has stated that it would "continue to fulfil its duty to consult Indigenous communities" as it "streamlines" approval processes to accelerate mining development. But Bill 5 proposes the creation of "special economic zones" where a "trusted proponent" can conduct business while being exempt from provincial or municipal laws and regulations, including requirements for permits. If there are no regulatory requirements in a "special economic zone," then the consultation owed to Indigenous communities is set to be limited, warns Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP, a firm involved in several lawsuits involving First Nations. What's more, the firm says the proposed law does not include any oversight mechanisms for First Nations to participate in or oppose decisions made in "special economic zones." "We are saying: 'Kill this bill', because it's very dangerous," said Koostachin, adding that he was particularly worried about the proposed law's focus on the Ring of Fire deposit in the province's northwest. He intends to issue a stark warning when he addresses the Ontario government in the coming weeks. "I'm going to remind them: if you disturb the peatlands, this carbon sink, you're asking for trouble," he said. "It'll disturb the air we breathe. It's your future also." "We are tied together in this, First Nations and the rest of society." Bill 5 has garnered a lot of enthusiasm from people in the mining industry, with CEOs of companies like Alamos Gold, Frontier Lithium, Generation Mining, Agnico Eagle Mines and Wyloo praising the government for its willingness to speed up the permitting process in a press release dated April 17. Limits on legal recourses Koostachin is also worried about what the proposed law means for First Nations' use of the court system. "We couldn't even sue the Government of Ontario," he said. The bill also prohibits lawsuits for things done or not done under this proposed law and its regulations, and would limit the legal actions First Nations can take outside the Constitution Act. Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP warns that, if the Act regulating the special economic zones passes in its current forms, First Nations will need to be prepared to "act swiftly, aggressively and proactively" to protect their rights. That could mean implementing monitoring programs across their territories, developing positive relationships with mining companies who understand the importance of Indigenous interests, and maintaining detailed records of their efforts to have their rights respected with the government. Other First Nations, like the ones represented by Anishinabek Nation, warn a proposed bill like this could harm the treaty relationship. "We will continue to assert our jurisdiction in the face of any legislation that seeks to erase or ignore governments' constitutional obligations to us as treaty partners," said Anishinabek Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige. Concerns for wildlife and treaty rights Debassige also raises concerns about the implications for endangered species and archaeological assessments. Bill 5 proposes to replace the Endangered Species Act with the Species Conservation Act, which will enable the government to override experts on what species should be protected, and what is considered a habitat, among other things. "To allow lands of economic value that have been cited for development to be exempt from protective checks and balances, such as archeological assessments and wildlife and ecosystem protections as proposed in this bill will cost First Nations and Ontarians profoundly," said Debassige. Koostachin echoes those concerns, specifically citing impacts a this proposed law could have on sturgeon or caribou populations, which are of great cultural importance to Cree communities in the far north. As for the province, it says the Species Conservation Act would balance conservation with the economy, and would create a special program that would make up to $20 million available for species conservation annually.
