The Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation has commenced efforts to revive the Golden Kopje Mine by seeking a firm to conduct a feasibility study. The study will develop a business plan and work schedule for reopening the mine. Golden Kopje Mine, located in Chinhoyi, stopped operations in 2006 due to financial constraints but reopened in 2009 before shutting down again in 2014 due to operational challenges. Reopening the mine could boost Zimbabwe's gold production, which increased 34% last year.

1. BH24 Reporter
HARARE – The Zimbabwe
Mining Development Corpora-
tion (ZMDC) has commenced
the process of reviving gold
producer Golden Kopje Mine by
seeking a firm to carry out a
feasibility study for the mine.
“This study will come up with
a business plan and a work
schedule,” said ZMDC in an
invitation to informal tender
today.
According to ZMDC, the fea-
sibility plan should include
a detailed business plan for
the mine; a review of the ore
reserves and resources “to
a recognised international
standard,” and a proposed
mine re-opening options, mine
News Update as @ 1530 hours, Tuesday 24 May 2016
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Govt moves to revive Golden Kopje Mine

2. plan and work schedule.
It should also include an eval-
uation of existing assets, cost
estimates and an exploration
proposal. Golden Kopje mine,
which is situated in the Chin-
hoyi greenbelt in south-east-
ern Zimbabwe, initially
stopped operations in 2006
due to financial constraints.
It resumed operations in April
2009 following its acquisition
by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
(RBZ) subsidiary Carslone
(Pvt) Limited in 2007 (with the
ZMDC coming in as a technical
partner), but shut down again
in 2014 due to operational
challenges.
Golden Kopje’s operations
were resumed in 2009, and
during the fourth quarter of
2010, the gold producer suc-
cessfully completed an expan-
sion project which boosted
production capacity from 24
000 ounces (oz) of gold per
year to 40 000oz of gold per
year.
During this time, the mine was
engaged in the exploration of
the down-dip extensions of the
known ore bodies and some of
its 18 (in total) satellite explo-
ration projects that are within
trucking distance of the mine’s
metallurgical recovery plant.
At the time it was projected
that the outcome of those
exploration and feasibility
studies could result in Golden
Kopje ramping output above
the targeted production for
2016 of 76 000oz.
The production ramp up was
part of the mine’s indicated
four-year growth strat-
egy (2014 to 2017), with
an investment programme
estimated at $37 million that
would be funded from Golden
Kopje’s internally generated
cash.
With potential to produce
at least 40 000oz annually,
re-opening of the mine can
provide impetus for the coun-
try’s gold production. Official
figures from the RBZ show
that the country’s gold produc-
tion increased by 34 percent
from 13, 9 tonnes in 2014 to
18, 6 tonnes last year, earn-
ing the country around $692
million. Zimbabwe is targeting
gold output of 24 tonnes by
the end of this year.●
2 news

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4. BH244

5. HARARE- The Agricultural
Marketing Authority (AMA)
has approved the setting up of
106 common buying points for
cotton across the country, up
from 98 last year, as the mar-
ket readies for start of selling
season for the white gold next
week.
Previously one of the top export
crops, cotton production has
over the years plummeted
due to a cocktail of challenges
bedeviling the sector, chiefly
pricing. Last year, cotton
exports accounted for less than
two percent of the country’s
total exports, coming behind
tobacco and sugarcane in terms
of agricultural produce.
In a statement on Tuesday,
AMA said negotiations between
farmers and buyers would
determine the price for the
crop.
“The price is negotiated
between farmers and buyers/
ginners and farmers must
be paid according to grade or
quality of their seed cotton,” it
said, emphasizing that cotton
was not a controlled crop.
Price wars have characterised
the beginning of the cotton
season as buyers offer lower
prices than those farmers would
be demanding.
To try and address issues of
side marketing which has also
rocked the sector, AMA said
registered buyers would only
be allowed to buy cotton from
areas where they supported
farmers with inputs.
While the government distrib-
uted free cotton inputs this sea-
son, at least seven companies
including Grafax, China Cotton,
Sino Zim and Alliance Ginners
also provided seed to plant 255
000 hectares.
AMA said of the one hundred
and six buying points, thirty
seven were in the Midlands
province, twenty three in Mash-
onaland Central while Masho-
naland West had twenty one,
Masvingo fifteen, Manicaland
nine while Matabeleland North
had one.
The buying points will open on
June 1 this year. Zimbabwe pro-
duced 102 000 tons of cotton
in the 2014/15 season with
expectations that output would,
this season, drop significantly
due to the El Nino induced
drought conditions.- New
Ziana●
5 news
AMA sets up 106 cotton buying points

6. BH246

7. BH247

8. By Funny Hudzerema
HARARE - Government is set
to introduce a new financ-
ing policy for the small and
medium-size enterprises
(SMEs) that does not require
collateral.
Currently banks are not
leading to SMEs without col-
lateral or bankable projects
due to fears that they will
default. Minister of Small and
Medium Enterprises Sithem-
biso Nyoni said the new
financing policy for the SMEs
sector will be introduced
soon.
“The Ministry of Finance
and the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe are looking at
putting in place structures
that allows banks to lend to
SMEs without collateral. The
two ministries are making a
policy which will allow SMEs
to get funds even without
fixed assets and the policy is
coming soon,” she said.
She said this while touring
three SMEs companies in
Ruwa in an effort to see how
the sector is working with
local authorities.
“The Ministry has got
SMEDCO as the bank for
SMEs but it is undercapi-
talised. That was a better
window for SMEs to access
funds.
“SMEs should partner with
local companies and other
stakeholders to boost their
businesses in order to
convince banks to lend them
money,” she said.
The SMEs expressed concern
over the unfair taxes which
they were being charged
by the Zimbabwe Revenue
Authority (ZIMRA) and other
authorities.
They also voiced concern
over the flooding of imported
goods on the market.●
8 news
SMEs financing policy near: Minister Nyoni

9. By Funny Hudzerema
HARARE -Government has
begun implementing a number
of financial inclusion strategies
for smallholder farmers that
are expected to enhance fund-
ing of the sector.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
deputy director in the depart-
ment of financial inclusion Ms
Audrey Hove said the strate-
gies had been developed after
a number of financial institu-
tions closed their operations
in the rural areas due to poor
circulation of money.
“Implementation of finan-
cial inclusion strategies for
smallholder farmers has
commenced. Meetings with
key stakeholders are underway
with Government ministries,
agricultural colleges, Insti-
tutions of higher learning to
discuss key policy interven-
tions for agriculture financing
and areas for collaborations
with particular focus on small-
scale agriculture financing
and development,” she said
at a private sector financing
workshop.
Currently smallholder farm-
ers are facing challenges in
accessing loans due to lack of
collateral.
Ms Hove said other financial
inclusion strategies for the
smallholder farmers included
the development of a Rural
and Agriculture Financing Pol-
icy, and the establishment of
a revolving fund at affordable
interest rates, with the assis-
tance of international develop-
ment financial institutions.
She said the RBZ had put
in place some measures to
improve financing to small-
holder farmers in the country.
“The Reserve Bank has
directed banking institutions
to ensure that at least 20 per-
cent of their loan portfolio is
comprised of loans to agricul-
ture, as a way of supporting
the agriculture sector.
“Banks in Zimbabwe are
required to develop appropri-
ate collateral substitutes in
order to address the challenge
of security among smallholder
farmers,” she said. ●
Implementation of financial inclusion strategies for smallholder farmers underway
9 news

10. HARARE - The equities
market bounced into pos-
itive trading today as the
mainstream industrial index
added 0.14 to close at
105.24.
Two counters gained ground,
with telecoms giant Econet
was up $0,0080 to trade at
$0,2242 while seed manufac-
turer SeedCo closed $0,0014
higher at $0,5714.
Trading in the red was
Natfoods, which dropped
$0,0200 to trade at $2,0800
while meats processor Col-
com and Old Mutual shed
$0,0050 each to settle at
$0,1550 and $2,1825 respec-
tively.
Also in the negative was
Fidelity Life lost $0,0010 to
close at $0,1030 and bev-
erages maker Delta slipped
$0,0008 to settle at $0,7175.
The mining index extended
its gain by a further 0.35
after RioZim added $0,0045
to close at $0,1610.
Bindura, Falgold and Hwange
maintained previous price
levels at $0,0120, $0,0050,
and $0,0300 respectively
. BH24 Reporter ●
Industrials return to positive trading
10 zse

11. Movers CHANGE Today Price USc SHAKERS Change TODAY Price USc
Econet 3.70 22.42 Colcom -3.12 15.50
RioZim 2.87 16.10 Delta -0.11 71.75
SeedCo 0.24 57.14 Fidelity Life -0.96 10.30
NatFoods -0.95 208.00
Old Mutual -0.22 218.25
Index Previous Today Move Change
Industrial 105.10 105.24 +0.14 points +0.13%
Mining 25.19 25.54 +0.35 points +1.39%
11 zse tables
ZSE
Indices
Stock Exchange
Previous
today

12. 12 DIARY OF EVENTS
The black arrow indicate level of load shedding across the country.
POWER GENERATION STATS
Gen Station
24 May 2016
Energy
(Megawatts)
Hwange 574 MW
Kariba 676 MW
Harare 0 MW
Munyati 28 MW
Bulawayo 23 MW
Imports 0 - 400 MW
Total 1477 MW
24 MAY -- Mashonaland Holdings Annual General Meeting; Place: 44 Tilbury Road, Willowvale, Harare, Zimbabwe; Time:
15:00hrs
26 MAY -- Proplastics Annual General Meeting; Place: Meikles Hotel, Cnr 3rd/Jason Moyo Avenue, Harare; Time: 10:00hrs
27 MAY -- ZB Financial Holdings Limited Twenty-Seventh Annual General Meeting; Place: Board Room, Ground Floor, 21
Natal Road, Avondale, Harare; Time: 10:30hrs
31 MAY -- Pearl Properties (2006) Limited Annual General Meeting; Place: Royal Harare Golf Club, Harare; Time: 14.30hrs
2 JUNE -- Zimplow Annual General Meeting; Place: Zimplow Holdings Limited Head Office, 36 Birmingham Road, Harare;
Time: 10:00hrs
9 JUNE -- First Mutual Holdings Annual General Meeting; Place: Royal Harare Golf Club, Harare; Time: 14:30hrs
THE BH24 DIARY

13. JOHANNESBURG - South
Africa's rand weakened
against the dollar early
on Tuesday as a bout of
risk aversion triggered by
lower commodity prices and
renewed expectations of a
rate hike in the United Sates
cooled investor appetite for
emerging market assets.
By 0645 GMT the rand had
slipped 0,54 percent to
15,8050 per dollar, giving up
modest overnight gains as
offshore sentiment and local
fundamentals weighed on the
unit.
Bonds also backtracked,
with the yield on the bench-
mark 2026 government issue
adding 6 basis points to 9,46
percent.
The statistics agency revised
down the country's 2015
growth figures on Mon-
day, while President Jacob
Zuma said he would appeal
a court ruling that corrup-
tion charges against him be
reinstated, shifting focus
back onto to South Africa's
creaking fundamentals.
Traders said while rand was
hit by local news, renewed
bets of a sooner than
expected interest rate hike
following hawkish comments
from Federal Reserve officials
was the main driver of rand
weakness.
"Focus is back on the dollar.
Hawkish statements from two
Fed members have kept fears
of a June hike alive," said
currency strategist at Rand
Merchant Bank John Cairns.
"Rand moves from here will
be dictated by the dollar.
A lack of event risk today
through until Friday, how-
ever, means we may have
to wait before getting any
direction." - Reuters●
regioNAL News13
Rand retreats as lower commodity price,
US rate hike weighs
Tiger Brands posts rise in H1 profit after
sale of Nigerian unit
JOHANNESBURG - South
African consumer goods
maker Tiger Brands said on
Tuesday first-half earnings
rose 14 percent, boosted by
the sale of its Nigerian busi-
ness, but warned tough trad-
ing conditions would persist
for the rest of the year.
Headline earnings per share
(EPS) - including continued
and discontinued opera-
tions - reached 974,6 cents
from 852,9 cents a year
ago, South Africa's biggest
consumer foods maker said
in a statement. Excluding
the sale of Nigeria's Dangote
Flour Mills headline, EPS was
flat.
Tiger Brands sold its 65,7
percent stake in Dangote
Flour Mills last year after
three years of failing to stem
losses which were wors-
ened by the oil price slump
and export restrictions in
Nigeria.
The company, which makes
bread, breakfast cereals and
energy drinks, bought the
business as part of a plan to
expand elsewhere in Africa
to offset slow growth at
home.
Inflation pressures, a
scorching drought and slow
economic growth in South
Africa are expected to con-
tinue to hurt demand, Tiger
Brands said.
"The outlook for the bal-
ance of the year remains
challenging, with downside
risk to the macro-economic
environment, both in South
Africa and in a number of
African markets, likely to
add further pressure on con-
sumers," it said.
Most export markets were
hit by local currency devalu-
ations and foreign currency
shortages in many African
countries. The company
operates in Mozambique,
Nigeria and Zimbabwe,
among others.
It said total sales rose
9 percent to 12,9 billion
rand. An interim dividend
of 363 cents per share was
declared. – Reuters●

14. A surge in investment pro-
pelled German economic
growth to its fastest pace in
two years in the first quar-
ter as mild winter weather
encouraged construction.
Building activity jumped
2,3 percent at the start of
the year, driving up capital
investment by 1,8 percent,
the Federal Statistics Office
in Wiesbaden said on Tues-
day. Private consumption
rose 0,4 percent. Gross
domestic product increased
a seasonally-adjusted 0,7
percent in the January-March
period, in line with a May 13
estimate.
Record-low unemployment
in Germany is underpinning
consumer demand, while
companies are benefiting
from a cyclical recovery in
the 19-nation euro area
driven by European Cen-
tral Bank stimulus. The
Bundesbank has expressed
confidence that the coun-
try’s economy can retain its
underlying strength, even
though expansion will slow
somewhat this quarter.
“Growth was broad-based,
with private consumption
and construction investment
shouldering a great share,”
Johannes Gareis, an econ-
omist at Natixis in Frank-
furt, said before the report.
“Looking to second-quarter
growth, we think the German
economy is unlikely to repeat
the blockbuster performance
seen in the first quarter,
also due to some payback
from the boost to construc-
tion investment from mild
weather.”
Orders Slowdown
The Ifo institute’s busi-
ness-climate index due on
Wednesday will provide some
clues on the severity of the
slowdown. A survey of pur-
chasing managers sent mixed
messages on Monday, sug-
gesting private-sector growth
in Europe’s largest economy
accelerated in May at the
fastest pace this year as
companies worked through
their backlogs, while a gauge
measuring new orders fell
to the lowest level in 10
months.
Investment contributed 0.4
percentage point to growth
in the first quarter, with
private consumption adding
0.2 point and government
spending 0.1 point, accord-
ing to the report. Net trade
subtracted 0.1 percentage
point from GDP expansion as
imports outpaced exports.
– Bloomberg●
internatioNAL News14
German economy expands on fastest investment growth in two years

15. In late February, the tanker
Jag Lok loaded oil from
Equatorial Guinea in west-
ern Africa and set sail for
the Chinese port of Qingdao,
the gateway to the world’s
newest buyers of crude, a
journey of more than 12,000
nautical miles.
After reaching its destina-
tion in early April, the ship
churned in circles for 20
days before it got a chance
to deliver its cargo. That’s
because the port in Shan-
dong province was struggling
to handle a record number
of vessels arriving to supply
the privately held refineries
called “teapots” that dot the
region, ship-tracking data
compiled by Bloomberg show.
The backup illustrates the
challenges facing the inde-
pendent refiners, which have
emerged as a bright spot
of rising demand amid a
global glut. The processors
are forecast by ICIS-China
to purchase a combined 1
million barrels a day of crude
from overseas this year,
up from 620 000 barrels in
2015. While small individu-
ally, together they account
for almost a third of China’s
refining capacity. Any curb
on imports would threaten
oil’s rebound from a 12-year
low, according to Nomura
Holdings Inc. and Samsung
Futures Inc.
“If teapots’ intake of crude
slows down, the global oil
demand and supply re-bal-
ancing might take longer,”
said Gordon Kwan, head of
Asia oil and gas research
at Nomura in Hong Hong.
“If demand from teapots is
lower, then oil prices might
rebound to just $55, instead
of $60 a barrel next year.”
From being dependent on
state-owned energy giants
for their feedstock needs as
little as a year ago, teapots
are now driving Chinese
crude purchases after the
government allowed them
to buy overseas supplies
directly. As of end-Febru-
ary, 27 of the companies
had received or applied for
annual import quotas totaling
89,5 million metric tons,
or about 1,8 million barrels
a day, according to Zhang
Liucheng, chairman of the
China Petroleum Purchase
Federation of Independent
Refinery, a group of 16 pro-
cessors.
Total purchases from over-
seas into the world’s sec-
ond-largest oil user climbed
to a near record 7,96 million
barrels a day in April, while
shipments to Qingdao surged
to unprecedented levels in
April.
Still, with infrastructure not
15 analysis15 analysis
Oil’s recovery under threat as tankers run in circles off China

16. 16 analysis16 analysis
developing as fast as oil pur-
chases, imports are at risk of
slowing because of the ship
traffic and lack of storage
capacity, according to BMI
Research. Concern about the
creditworthiness of compa-
nies with no prior experi-
ence in international trade is
also deterring some sellers.
Slowing refining profits mean
the plants may have to cut
processing rates, weakening
their appetite for cargoes
from overseas, while the
implementation of higher fuel
quality standards could force
some of them to shut.
Refiner Alliance
To ease purchasing from
foreign suppliers, 16 of the
refiners banded together in
February to form an alliance.
Its aim is to better negoti-
ate bulk purchases as the
newest buyers in the phys-
ical oil-trading market and
improve their credibility.
Zhang, the chairman, said it
seeks term contracts of two
to three years.
“When we are dealing with
major producers, there is
certainly some mistrust in
terms of credit lines and
unstable demand, which we
are seeking to solve,” Zhang
said. “Also we could get the
cold shoulder because buying
volumes can be small.”
The independents’ attractive-
ness to global producers was
highlighted last month when
one of the refiners purchased
a spot cargo from Saudi
Arabia, which broke from its
usual policy of selling only
under long-term contracts.
Yet, they are discovering that
it’s not easy to break into
the oil market even amid a
glut.
“Teapot buying could slow
due to logistical constraints
which are already stretched
to their limits,” said Nevyn
Nah, a Singapore-based
analyst at consultant firm
Energy Aspects Ltd.
Fuel Standards
Apart from the traffic at
Qingdao, China’s fight
against pollution poses
another risk to purchases by
teapots. Part of President
Xi Jinping’s efforts to tackle
the smog that’s shortening
lives and has prompted social
unrest is a drive to adopt
higher fuel-quality stand-
ards from January 2017. To
comply, the nation’s refiner-
ies will need to upgrade with
new equipment and technol-
ogy, which may be beyond
the means of some private
processors, according to BMI
Research, a unit of Fitch
Group.
A drop in refining margins
amid surging fuel stockpiles
and a jump in crude prices
this year is another potential
dampener. The profit from
turning Middle East bench-
mark Dubai crude into oil
products in Asia is at $4,92
a barrel as of the end of last
week, about 34 percent lower
from late March, data com-
piled by Bloomberg show.
Brent crude, the bench-
mark for more than half the
world’s oil, traded at $47,95
a barrel by 7:54 a.m. in
London. Prices have surged
more than 70 percent from
a 12-year low they hit in
January.
Margin Drop
“Weakening margins are
likely to have a stronger
impact on independent refin-
eries in China and this will
lead to lower crude imports,”
said Hong Sung Ki, a senior
analyst at Samsung Futures
Inc. in Seoul. “That will
result in a downward revision
for China demand and this
will inevitably have a nega-
tive impact on oil prices.”
Meanwhile, ships continue
to be held up at Qingdao.
At least 16 oil tankers with
capacity to carry 21.2 million
barrels have stayed near
the port for more than 10
days over May 1-23. Half of
them were there for more
than a month, according to
ship-tracking data compiled
by Bloomberg. – Bloomb-
erg●