On a Date with RioZim Limited (RIOZ)
Today in Zimbabwe you can buy gold and diamonds for the price of snacking on “Maputi”. Let us show you how  Welcome to On a Date with a listed company on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. #1. History, 1873, Hugh Matheson a Scottish entrepreneur leads a consortium of European banks to acquire old copper mines in Spain Consortium wins the right to buy RioTinto mines from the Spanish government resulting in the formation of Rio Tinto Co (RTC) 1954, Business environment in Spain deteriorates favoring local enterprises. RTC sells off a significant stake in the Spanish copper mines to a consortium of Spanish banks. Compania Espanola de Minas de Rio Tinto is formed to take over mining in from RTC. 1956, RTC is awash with money from the sell of its mines in Spain. Money is invested in a newly registered unit Rio Tinto Southern Rhodesia (RTSR). RTSR’s first investment is to develop and mine the Empress Nickel deposit. 1959, Cam & Motor Mine is bought but its gold reserves had depleted significantly. It was closed 9 years after it was bought then reopened 47 years later on an adjacent site +150 tons of gold had been produced. The largest gold mine by output at the time. RTSR continued to grow its portfolio of businesses especially through acquiring existing mines. These included:- Sandawana, an emerald mine Patchway, a gold mine Renco, gold mine mine Rio Industries established. 1969, RTSR is listed on the @ZSE_ZW RioZim (RIOZ) becomes the new name for RTSR upon the independence of Zimbabwe. 1982, the nickel deposits at Empress Nickel Refinery (ENR) are depleted. ENR closed. 1989, Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) grants a coal mining licence to Sengwa Colliery. Sengwa starts as a joint venture between Rio Tinto and RTZ Mining & Exploration. Rio Tinto is the parent company of RIOZ. 1997, Discovery of diamond  bearing kimberlite pipes in Murowa area by Rio Tinto. 7 years later a small mine is commissioned 2004, RIOZ becomes a Zimbabwean company separate from Rio Tinto 2013, Dalny Mine is bought from Falcon Gold’s subsidiary Palatial 2015, Rio Tinto sells off its Murowa Diamonds and Sengwa operations to RIOZ The sell off marked its exit from Zimbabwe. #2. Operations, RIOZ is in the business of exploration, mining and refinery It holds mining claims for gold, coal, chrome. Mining is currently being done for gold and diamonds. Refinery at its ENR complex is subdued due to lack of sufficient feed. #3. Divisions RioGoldComprises of 3 mines• Cam & Motor,• Renco• Dalny RioBase MetalsIt is made up of the ENR. The division is operating in care and maintenance mode. It covers its costs by refinery of mattes from 3rd parties. RioDiamonds RIOZ owns a 22% shareholding in Murowa Diamonds the mine developed by @RioTinto. 78% is held by RZ Murowa Holdings. RioEnergyComprises of 2 project level operations.• 178 Megawatt (MW) Solar Project• 2800 MW Sengwa Colliery #4. Customers, RIOZ sells its gold to Fidelity Gold Refinery (FGR). FGR is the sole licenced buyer of gold in Zimbabwe. A unit of RBZ RIOZ exports its diamonds from Murowa Diamond. Platinum Group Metals (PGM) producers use ENR. #5. Competitors, Caledonia Mining Corporation An efficient miner who owns Blanket Mine in Gwanda. Kuvimba Mining House The largest owner of mining assets in Zimbabwe including BNC which owns BSR similar to ENR. ZCDC Holds diamond assets in Marange #6. Management, Manit Shah – CEO Holder of a Masters in Finance from the London School of Economics A successive executive with a track record of turning around distressed businesses. Currently he has managed to bring to completion the BIOX project. #7. Share Price ZWL110 per share (USc21.15@RBZ Interbank Rate) as at 18/10/22. Get it on @CTRADEmobile or @ZSEDirectZWL40 per share on 4/01/22. Check it on @MorganCo_ZW 175% gained to date ranking it 8th on the @ZSE_ZW Market Cap ZWL13.4bn (US$25.81m market cap @RBZ interbank rate)122,029,470 issued shares. #8. Shareholding, Global Emerging Markets (GEM) is the largest shareholder of RIOZ. GEM is an investment group with USD +3.4 billion in assets across the world. It’s shareholding in RIOZ is held through the GEM RioZim Investment vehicle. RioZim Murowa is the 2nd largest shareholder and is controlled by GEM which led by Harpal Randhawa. RioZim Foundation was set by RS Walker the then chairman in 1974 to support communities. The foundation received a block of RIOZ shares through a deed. #9. Pitch The business is on a mend with support from the majority shareholder. Completion of the Biological Oxidation (BIOX) plant project is an enabler to facilitate recovery of high grade refractory sulphide ores from the Cam & Motor Mine. A new processing plant at Murowa Diamond doubling monthly processing capacity. GoZ policy on beneficiation might push PGM producers to invest in ENR. The inflationary conditions across the world will favor commodity producers. |
