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ALMING RESOURCE NATIONALISM

Zambian company Chiman Manufacturing will process the ore from Red Rock Resources’ Chiwefwe ferromanganese project.

Author: Ronald Mwila
NDOLA - 

In what appears to mark a shift in the way miners operate in Zambia, AIM and Frankfurt-listed Red Rock Resources Plc has contracted a Zambian company to undertake primary processing of manganese ore from the Chiwefwe project in central Zambia.

The deal with Chiman Manufacturing Limited, announced late on Monday, would lead to the production of ferromanganese.

This move has since been hailed by the Zambia Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI), which holds that such partnerships are critical to ensuring that the country benefits more from her mineral wealth through the participation of more local partners.

ZACCI chairman Wamulume Kalabo also feels such partnerships would help calm an emerging wind of resource nationalism, especially over the mines, which has been fuelled by populist opposition leader Michael Sata.

“We need more of such partnerships. As ZACCI, we have consistently argued that to address the capacity constraints that mining houses say make them fail to contract local companies, the miners should help build that capacity. Therefore, we are pleased that Red Rock, though fairly unknown on the Zambian mining scene, has taken this step. In the long run, we see this development boosting beneficiation of raw materials, thereby enhancing the value Zambia can earn from her exports,” Kalabo said in a brief comment on Tuesday.

The Chamber of Mines in Zambia (CMZ) was unavailable to immediately comment on the matter.

Under Red Rock’s deal with Chiman, the latter would crush, prepare and process ore from stockpiles and surface material at Chiwefwe.

“The agreement is effective from the date of first delivery of ore to Chiman’s ferromanganese plant at Kabwe,” Red Rock Chairman Andrew Bell stated, but did not indicate the date of the first delivery. “Under the agreement, the Company will have exclusive use of a furnace and will pay US $150 per tonne of ferromanganese delivered, plus the cost of coke, plus 25% of sale profit (being at least US $100 per tonne) net of Government royalty. Chiman is currently producing and selling ferromanganese from the Kabwe plant and the Company will be working in conjunction with Chiman to sell the product into local and overseas markets. The Company expects to make first deliveries shortly.”

Last month, Red Rock confirmed the occurrence of high grade manganese deposits at Chiwefwe, as well as the granting of a small-scale mining licence by the Zambian Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development.

http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page39?oid=19760&sn=Detail 

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Given the resources, the technology and the expertise, Zambians always are the best at what they do. Reading through the second Quarterly Media Briefing by Dr. Caleb M Fundanga just made me feel even more so. 

The brief contained several very interesting figures and annotations but the ones that really caught my eyes involved the (yield rate to government securities) interest rates, treasury bills and government bonds to penalty rate; which in essence are sometimes considered usury rate. 

What was more interesting about T-bills was the yield which ranged from 11.8760% to 12.5041% for the 91 days and the 364 days respectively. This means that Zambia beats even all the G-8 countries when it comes to T-bill yield ratios.

Inter-bank Foreign Exchange Rates

31 Jul 2007 [ZMK/US$]

Time (GMT+2) Buying Selling 09:30 3,895.56 3,915.56 15:30 3,909.44 3,929.44

Government Bonds

20 Jul 2007, No.:  07/2007/BA

Period Yield Coupon

Treasury Bills

26 Jul 2007, No.:  31/2007

Tenure Yield Discount

Penalty Rates

23 Jul 2007 40.2500

Using these yields, an investor has the capacity to double his or her investment every 6 years, all things being equal. But with inflation at 11.01% unless one is keeping those investments in hard currency one finds him/herself at almost just where he/she began from. 

However, with inflation showing a downward trend, a speculator can make it big investing in government securities as long as he/she stick with the 91 day T-bills and compounding them every three months. This leaves room for highly volatile market circumstances with the propensity for greater risk and why that was not addressed in the report worries me.

Under Commercial Lending Rates, a weighted lending base rate of 18.2% is truly an outlier and Bank of Zambia would serve the nation well by fixing this rate more the same way the Federal Reserve Bank fixes theirs in the US. 

Food inflation was extremely impressive and looking at the stock on hand just made me start thinking as to why the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) may not be given more power to set up a commodities market. Since Kapiri Mposhi is more central the commodities exchange can be based there as the Kapiri Commodities Exchange. 

This is second time I took time to read Dr. Fundanga’s quarterly report and I must admit, I really like this one the most. The document was written to the best of standard prevalent among industrialized nations … thanks a trillion

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Oleg Deripaska, born in 1968, is Russia’s youngest billionaire at age 35. Deripaska accumulated a business empire through a series of ruthless and elaborate, though technically legal, takeover raids.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, he was a 23-year-old student at Moscow State University. He soon got a job in the fledgling metals trading market. By 1994, he was chief financial officer of Aluminprodukt.

Through the company, he bought a stake in a Siberian smelter plant, beginning his ascent to the top of one of Russia’s roughest industries. Deripaska became the plant’s manager to protect it from a takeover by its former owner, who once threatened him with a grenade launcher.

Later, Deripaska waged his own revolt to take over the shares of the London-based Transworld Group, then owned by controversial multimillionaire Mikhail Chernoi. Fellow oligarch Roman Abramovich became Deripaska’s partner; in early 2000, the two created a joint venture called Russian Aluminum (RusAl).

Today, RusAl has $4 billion in annual sales and is the world’s second-largest aluminum producer. Deripaska owns 75 percent of the company. His other businesses include power stations, Russia’s largest car and commercial vehicle manufacturer, and the country’s largest insurance company.

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The Zambian Enterprise has now officially entered the donor community for the first time in history.

Zambia has donated over 10,000 metric tones of white corn worth $2.5 million dollars to the U.N World Food Program (WFP) to feed orphans and people living with AIDS, WFP country manager for Zambia, David Stevenson disclosed.

“It is the first time Zambia has done so (donating food) and it’s a tremendous gesture in many ways that shows we are collaborating well with Zambia in meeting the needs of hungry people,” Stevenson said.

He added assessments were underway in Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Malawi and Swaziland on food requirements, and part of the Zambian donation could go to help feed hungry people elsewhere in Africa. 

This donation will also boost local food markets because the government buys its maize from small-scale farmers. So far in 2007, WFP has bought 34,000 tons of food in Zambia valued at US$7.3 million. Over the past six years, WFP purchased 295,000 tons at a cost of US$63 million in Zambia. 

In another development, Josette Sheeran, WFP Executive Director welcomed a critically needed donation worth in excess of US$20 million by the Republic of Korea (South Korea) to WFP’s food assistance to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), where a lack of funds has already forced the agency to cut back feeding programs for schools and for at-risk infants and small children.  

WFP warned that many millions of North Koreans still face severe food shortages. Even with WFP now being able to reach 1.9 million people, there are still millions of vulnerable North Koreans who are going without food assistance to cover their nutritional needs. 

The Zambian Enterprise may want to find news means and ways to help the North Koreans now that a communiqué is in place, international co-operation is necessary especially if we are the ones on the giving side this time around as in this instance … thanks a trillion.

Brainwave R Mumba, Sr. 

CEO & President – Zambian Chronicle 

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1.  Just Who Is Carlos Slim - The World’s Richest Man?

Posted by brainsplus under mumba , Economist , billionaires , brainwave mumba , richest man , self-made , wealthiest man , riches , zambia , Blogroll , telecom , Mexico , money , trade , US , africa , Economics(edit this)
 

Bill Friday tries to answer that question for us … by print time of his article, Carlos was not yet considered the world’s richest man but now you know the rest is history … thanks a trillion.

You don’t tug on Superman’s cape, you don’t spit into the wind, you don’t pull the mask of that old Lone Ranger and you don’t mess around with Slim.” - Jim Croce.

1902

A young man flees persecution in his home country and travels half way around the world to find a new home and a new way of life. How many times have we heard that one? But what if the young man was born in Lebanon? And what if the country he emigrated to wasn’t the U.S., but Mexico?Here begins the story of Carlos Slim.

2.  Hidden Secrets Of Lumwana - World’s Largest Undeveloped Deposits (Copper, Gold, Cobalt & Uranium)

Posted by brainsplus under brainwave mumba , Rio Tinto , International Monetary Fund , African nation , Hidden Secrets Of Lumwana , zambian economy , Cobalt & Uranium , World’s Largest Undeveloped Deposits , Equinox , FDI , Copper , africa , money , Gold , riches , mining , World Bank , Blogroll(edit this)
 

Lumwana comes with a lot of serious hidden secrets … despite having been discovered over 70 years ago, it was not fully developed. But why?? Because at the time of discovery, it was learnt that its ore’s copper content was lower than the best grade available in other regions such as those on the Copperbelt. 

3.  Zambia Leads The World - Least Expensive/Fastest Adoption Programs

Posted by brainsplus under Aids , Adoptions , married parents , zambia , single parents , africa , US , Blogroll(edit this)
 

The Zambian Enterprise leads the world with the least expensive as well as fastest adoption programs currently available. In fact, the International Adoption Agency lists Zambia on behalf of the whole continent as the best place for adoption. 

This is actually a great blessing in disguise as local entrepreneurs could engage in a little more charity enterprising by providing philanthropic shelter as they work with this agency in preparing adoptions thereby alleviating prevalent the street kids quandary.

4.  Bill Clinton Jets Into Zambia

Posted by brainsplus under African nation , President Mbeki , Bill Clinton jets in Zambia , brainwave mumba , mwanawasa , Kaunda , Clinton Climate Initiative’s Energy Efficiency Building , President Bingu wa Mutharika , HIV/AIDS testing , ‘first black president’ of America , Scottish philanthropist Tom Hunter , Clinton-Hunter Development Initiative and Partners in H , New State House , AIDS Research , lusaka , zambia , Hillary Clinton , US , africa , Blogroll , Dominican Republic , Laura Bush , William Jefferson Clinton , Lilongwe , America Votes , Economist , Tanzania , Economics(edit this)
 

Barely two weeks since the current US First Lady Laura Bush visited the Zambian Enterprise, Bill Clinton jets in … Former US President William Jefferson Clinton will be in Zambia tomorrow, Friday July 20^th, 2007.

He arrived in Johannesburg this Wednesday via the Dominican Republic to start his second African tour … this will be his first ever visit to Zambia and we hope he would find it memorably nolstagic compared to any African nation he has ever visited.

5.  Best Ever US Ambassador To Zambia - Carmen M Martinez

Posted by brainsplus under lusaka , US Ambassador , exchange rate , AIDS Research , Global Peace Index , Presidential Award for Meritorious Service , Carmen M Martinez , green policies , US State Department , FDI , africa , Blogroll , education , US , Aids , Economist , Laura Bush , foreign service , Economics(edit this)
 

The Zambian Chronicle has recognized the current US Ambassador Carmen M Martinez to Zambia as the best ever. Our commitment to the cause and accession has been based on a matrix of issues among which a few are underpinned here below. 

Ø       In less than two (2) years of her appointment and subsequently being sworn in, Carmen M Martinez has managed to warm the hearts of the people of the Zambian Enterprise thereby creating a sense of partnership in development. Previous ambassadors were seen more as big brothers/big sisters waiting and watching what the next mistake would be before they issued what was perceived to be the way things ought to be run. 

6.  Zambia’s Oil & Gas Exploration Underway Soon

Posted by brainsplus under Equinox , FDI , Zambezi , Cobalt & Uranium , Kabompo and Chavuma , Oil & Gas - Zambia , Economist , petroleum , Copper , US , Angola , Russian , Britain , exports , Economics(edit this)
 

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Oil and gas exploration licenses have been put on hold until the end of December 2007 because the current laws are of a lower design than those prevalent to similar nations on the global scale where such prospects are carried out.

According to media reports issued in Lusaka this week, Minister of Mines and Mineral Development, Dr. Kalombo Mwansa disclosed that the 1995 Petroleum Act was too weak to handle current exploration prospects thus the need to draw up policies and guidelines to facilitate oil and gas exploration by private companies. 

7.  Zambian Uranium - Higher Grade Than Initially Thought

Posted by brainsplus under Rio Tinto , Equinox , FDI , Open Pit Mines , African nation , Cobalt & Uranium , Hidden Secrets Of Lumwana , Economist , mining , money , Blogroll , africa , Fundraising , SADC , zambia , Economics(edit this)
 

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An independent feasibility study conducted by Equinox this year reveals that Zambian uranium at Lumwana is actually of a higher grade that was initially conceived. This is according to a new press report issued in Canada on Tuesday.  

8.  Zambia Has Serious Competitors - How To Help Undercut Them

Posted by brainsplus under African nation , lusaka , competitive advantage , Algeria , zambian economy , Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) , most urbanized countries , urban population , tax free zones , Angola , Tunisia , africa , trade , Blogroll , US , cutting edge , Mozambique , zambia , strategic planning , Mexico(edit this)
 

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It is always necessary to know who your competitors are … the Zambian Enterprise has some very serious ones when it comes to being the best destination for investment capital from around the world. 

9.  Billionaire Charles Koch reveals “formula for success”

Posted by brainsplus under Blogroll(edit this)
 

If you care deeply about business and politics, are inspired by the successes - and failures - of others, and gain experience from mistakes made and lessons learned, then you have a lot in common with Charles Koch, one of the world’s richest men and author of this best-selling book, The Science of Success: How Market-Based Management Built the World’s Largest Private Company 10.  No Deals With North Korea, Please!!! Posted by brainsplus under mwanawasa , lusaka , First Lady , Global Peace Index , green policies , No deals , nuclear programs , auditor general , bad deals , audits , North Korea , africa , Blogroll , pollution , zambia , Economist , Aids , Economics(edit this)   Recent reports in the Zambian media that our own Zambian Enterprise has signed a communiqué with North Korea is not only disturbing but also flabbergasting … NO DEAL IS A GOOD DEAL WITH NORTH KOREA DESPITE THE NEW DEAL!!!!

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The Zambian Enterprise has now officially entered the donor community for the first time in history.

Zambia has donated over 10,000 metric tones of white corn worth $2.5 million dollars to the U.N World Food Program (WFP) to feed orphans and people living with AIDS, WFP country manager for Zambia, David Stevenson disclosed.

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