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Mwana Africa Ponders London Listing
Financial Gazette (Harare), June 23, 2005
Felix Njini, Harare
EMERGING pan-African mining group Mwana Africa Holdings, currently focused on developing its Zimbabwean nickel and gold mines and exploration in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), is considering an offshore listing.
Mwana Africa, which has signalled an aggressive foray into the central African region's vast mineral wealth, is planning a London listing as a way of raising cash for some of its mining projects.
Although officials could not shed light on how the group intends to fund projects such as the Hunters Road Nickel Mine in the Midlands province, insiders said there was great scope for a London listing as well as establishing headquarters there.
Mwana Africa, a majority shareholder in Zimbabwe's biggest nickel producer, Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC), is currently prowling the jungles of the mineral-rich DRC exploring for gold and base metal deposits.Unconfirmed reports say the group has hit a jackpot in the DRC, where its said to have met some copper deposits.
Mwana Africa officials are on record as saying they were at one time negotiating a possible copper joint-venture mining project with Gecamines of the DRC. Mwana Africa, owned by a consortium of African businessmen, also has interests in Angola, where exploration for base metals is currently underway.
Mwana Africa chairman Kalaa Mpinga said no discovery had been made yet. But the Hunters Road nickel project, where Mwana Africa says it has discovered 30 million tonnes of ore deposits. looks set to boost the group's fortunes. Production is likely to commence in 2011, according to a company official.
"The resource consists of 30 million tonnes of ore containing approximately 125 000 tonnes of recoverable nickel valued at close to US$2 billion at current prices," the official said recently. Shareholders have also given BNC the greenlight to invest US$11 million in deepening a shaft at its Trojan Mine in Bindura to extend the mine's ore production to 2013, while another US$8 million would be used to upgrade a concentrator at Trojan.
Analysts say to kick-start the project, the group could seek external funding. But Mwana Africa insiders said this week consensus was for an offshore listing.
According to Mpinga, the Hunters Nickel project might require up to US$120 million. He, however, said the group was still completing a bankable feasibility study after which the details of the actual costs would be made public. Mpinga said despite its aggressive plans for the continent, Mwana Africa was keeping an open mind about its capital-raising plans.
"We are looking at a wide range of options . . . nothing is definite yet. The first thing is to finish the bankable feasibility studies and then base our financial plans on that," he said.
"We are doing exploration work in the DRC and Angola, and until we find something concrete, what do we need the money for?" said Mpinga.
Apart from the promising new nickel mine, Mwana Africa said it had managed to put Freda Rebecca gold mine, bought last year, on course.
"We have settled all debts and the company is moving along, though at a slower pace," Mpinga said.
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