Vast bullish on Marange project

TINASHE MAKICHI

AIM-listed mining company Vast Resources will proceed with its proposed Marange diamond venture despite the departure of its experienced executive director for diamond division, Mark Mabhudhu.

Mabhudhu who joined Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) as CEO has been instrumental in the structuring of a proposed joint venture between Vast Resources and the government.

In a Zimbabwe operation update, Vast Resources said its highly skilled geological and technical team remains employed by the company and that it has identified a high level Chief Operations Officer to manage the project who shall be engaged upon confirmation of the signing of the joint venture.

“The company can also confirm that this personnel change in Zimbabwe will not pose any impediment to the finalisation of the anticipated Joint Venture Agreement between the company’s subsidiary in respect of the Chiadzwa Community Diamond Concession,” Vast said.

In September 2019, the company announced it has signed a Joint Venture Agreement with Chiadzwa Mineral Resources (Pvt) Ltd, a company designated to represent the Chiadzwa Community interests in the Concession.

This resulted in the formation of Katanga Mining. A further Joint Venture Agreement between Katanga and the ZCDC is set to be officially signed.

The AIM –listed mining group is anticipating positive prospects on this proposed diamond venture in Marange Diamond Fields, after becoming the first private company to mine diamonds following the consolidation of the diamonds industry by the government in 2015.

The mining group has since assembled and mobilised a team of geologists and engineers who have undertaken an extensive investigation into the potential of modern alluvial diamond placer deposits and the possibility of the basal Umkondo unit on the Heritage Concession.

Prior to this new agreement, the mining group had concluded an exclusive access agreement for due diligence and pre-agreed joint venture terms with Red Mercury as outlined in the company’s announcement of August 2018 and since then had completed positive commercial due diligence on the project.

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