Breaking…Liberation Mining shareholder impasse resolved

TINASHE MAKICHI

The impasse between coal miner, Liberation Mining founding shareholders and a Russian investor, IR Trading Limited Shareholders has been resolved with the latter having been issued fully paid up shares in the company.

The Matabeleland North-based coal miner recently halted operations as the shareholder dispute reached noxious levels with local partners’ alleged bid not to release shares to their Russian investment partners.

A recent High Court application demanding the handover of shares by local partners to Russian investors in the coal mine unearthed an agenda by a consortium of local partners to defraud the foreign investor, deviating from the original facets of signed shareholder agreements.

This came after local partners failed to transfer 49 percent shareholding to IR Trading despite the commencement of operations at the Matabeleland North based mine.

The local partners demanded the Russians to first cough up $39 million for the stake a position which the Russians labelled fraudulent and non-existent driven by greedy partners who are after to reaping on where they did not sow.

Liberation Mining was founded in 2006 by three Zimbabweans, Peter Mutsinya, Rainor Robinson and Gavin Von Platen who entered into a joint venture agreement with Russian investor, IR Trading in 2017.

Founding shareholder Mutsinya said the impasse has since been resolved with operation expected to rep-commence soon.

“I am happy to officially announce that the previous impasse between Liberation Mining founding shareholders and IR Trading Limited Shareholders has been fully resolved. All shareholders as per ZIA [Zimbabwe Investment Authority] Licence have been issued with “fully paid up shares” and at the Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting held on 25 September it was resolved to appoint eight Directors of the company that is representing IR Trading Ltd and Local Zimbabweans.

“At the same meeting Viktor Tskhovrebov was appointed the CEO of Liberation Mining (Pvt) Limited and Pasipanodya Mukono the company secretary and public officer. We are now awaiting for our foreign partners to finalize further funding for the project so that the operations can be resuscitated at the earliest opportunity,” said Mutsinya.

“The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development and all other relevant government departments have been fully informed of these resolutions and are now eagerly awaiting for the reopening of Lubimbi Coal Mine soonest,” he said.

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