Newcrest Development Ltd seeks coal mining licence
Newcrest Development (Private) Limited has lodged an application with the Mining Affairs Board for an Exclusive Prospecting Order (EPO) for coal in Kamativi, in the Matabeleland North Mining District.
EPOs confer exclusive rights to prospect for specified minerals in any identified location within Zimbabwe and are critical in allowing international mineral explorers to scan through the country in search of minerals and produce bankable exploration results that can attract investment.
According to a recent Government Gazette General Notice 1892 of 2023, the Chairman of the Mining Affairs Board, Mr Pfungwa Kunaka, who is also the Mines and Mining Development Permanent Secretary said Newcrest Development (Private) Limited intends to prospect for coal within the area which has been reserved against prospecting pending determination of this application.
Prospecting authority is sought upon registered base mineral blocks within the reservation.
“It is hereby notified, in terms of section 87(4) of the Mines and Minerals Act (Chapter 21:05), that Newcrest Development (Private) Limited has applied to the Mining Affairs Board for an exclusive prospecting order, over an area described in the Schedule, in the Matabeleland North Mining District, in relation to map reference Kamativi SE-35-11 Edition 2 and of the scale 1: 250 000, produced by the Surveyor-General,” reads part of the general notice.
Zimbabwe boasts of huge coal deposits in Matabeleland North province where companies such as Hwange Colliery and Makomo Resources and Muchesu Coal Mine are active, and is seeking to maximise mineral exploitation to reboot its economy.
However, the country’s full potential is yet to be exploited.
Mining is strategic to Zimbabwe’s plans to grow and turn around the economy with the sector accounting for over 60 percent of the country’s export receipts and contributing 16 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
Coal mining is expected to contribute significantly to the realisation of the US$12 billion mining industry by the end of this year.
-chronicle
