By Patson Chilemba
Politically linked forces in the mining industry, said to have strong links with powerful people in the UPND administration, have disregarded police call outs over serious allegations of fraudulent practices and illegal transfer of exploration licences, impeccable sources have told Daily Revelation.
Details are that Anglo American PLC, which is known to have serious connections with State House has bought a fraudulently obtained mine from Arc Minerals and Handa Resources Ltd, with those implicated being individuals linked to the Zambian government operating under the names Handa Resources, Zaco Investments and Afrimin Resources, which are all subsidiaries of ARC [pp-logged-users] Minerals (ARN.L) over fraudulent practices, including the illegal transfer of exploration licences and collaborating or inducing public officers to approve the grant of unlawful transfers.
Anglo-American PLC (ALL.L, NGLOY, AGL.JO) made initial payment of $3.5 million out of the total cash payment of $14.5 million to Arc Minerals’ subsidiary Umico Minerala Ltd as announced by Arc Minerals executive chairman Nick Von Schirnding on November 10, 2023 in the UK’s Regulatory News Services (RNS), and that the agreement includes a further investment of $90 million by Anglo America in the three licences which have been unlawfully granted contrary to sections 22(3)(e), 66(1), (2), (6) and 72(1) of the Mines and Minerals Development Act no.11 of 2015.
The payments have been made and transactions concluded despite ongoing police investigations and High Court proceedings under Judges Bonaventure Mbewe (Cause no. 2016/HPC/0509) and Charles Zulu (cause no. 2023/HP/1720).
“It’s clear that some powerful individuals at the Ministry of Mines have disregarded the police investigations and the high Court proceedings and transferred the Majority Shareholding of Handa Resources, Zaco Investments and Afrimin Resources to Anglo American Corporation PLC,” sources said.
Documents obtained from the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) shows that Anglo is now the majority shareholder in Handa Resources, Afrimin Resources and Zaco investment, with Handa appointing renowned Zambian based in South Africa, ex-chairman and chief executive of Anglo America Norman Mbazima as director and Arc Minerals retaining Valentine Chitalu at the London Board.
The other new board member of Handa Resources is Anglo American country manager Adriana Blesa who has replaced Lt Gen Sande Lageni Kayumba.
Sources have told Daily Revelation that Schirnding and his accomplice Rajendra Patel purported to be representatives of the transferor, Zamsort when in fact not, have ignored police call outs which were served on them because of alleged protection from powerful forces in government and the “strength of the buyer Anglo-American” which controls leaders in most third world countries.
The $3.5 million Anglo American, a global player in the global mining, is said to have been done through an offshore proxy firm of Arc Minerals called Umico Mineral Limited despite the ongoing court proceedings and active matters before the country’s investigative wings, with Finance minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane and Secretary to Treasury Felix Nkulukusa being challenged to investigate such transactions as they were some of the main reasons why the Kwacha had depreciated to shambolic levels of almost K25 to US$1.
“Large sums of money are paid overseas for Zambian assets whilst the Commissioner General of ZRA is busy pursuing small Zambian Enterprises for small taxes and grounding them into bankruptcy,” sources mourned. “If these funds went into Zambian banks and several other similar transactions done by these multinationals and hundreds of foreign listed companies which are deliberately allowed to own Mining Rights without any local shareholders, the dollar wouldn’t be trading at K24. It’s time that all Zambians wake up!!”
On the nitty-gritties on the alleged fraudulent activities surrounding the licence transfers, investigations have revealed irregularities at the Ministry of Mines dating from 2021 through forged and applications of transfer pretending to be “A CHANGE IN PARTICULARS” and that the recent submission of documents on behalf of Zamsort, Schirnding filled in and submitted at the Ministry’s cadaster office on July 27, 2023, Form XV(Regulation 29(1) being an application for consent to transfer mining right, mineral processing licence, or register transfer shares in or transfer control of, company holding rights or mineral processing licence, with the ministry responding to this application signed by chief registrar of mines, Choolwe Chaduka, who addressed the letter to the bonafide transferor, Zamsort Ltd but the offer letter was instead given to the purporter Schirnding who is neither an officer or representative of the transferor.
Sources said the ongoing proceedings on the licence transfer have raised concerns about the involvement of government agencies and individuals processing the transfer, with the Competitions and Consumer Protection Commissioner (CCPC) and Zambia Revenue Authority authenticating the transfers to the detriment of the country, wondering how a country could develop when institutions empowered to monitor manipulations and tax evasion bend to suit the needs of foreign entities while flexing muscles on indigenous Zambians mercilessly.
The consent judgment signed by High Court judge Bonaventure Mbewe on October 05, 2023 reversed all licences held by Handa Resources, Afrimin Resources and Zaco Investment back to the original owners Zamsort, with the consent entered into by Zamsort Ltd and Consolidated Advisory Services Ltd explicitly stating that “….the purported transfer of Mining licence No.19906-HQ-LEL to Handa Resources through a change of particulars was illegal and thus the aforesaid Mining Licence or any subsequent Licence arising therefrom still belongs to Zamsort Zambia limited..”
The judgment reaffirms that the license still belongs to Zamsort Zambia Limited which includes all the licences that have been unlawfully transferred to Afrimin Resources and Zaco Investment by Arc Minerals contrary to the provisions of Sections 22 (3)(e) and 72.
Given that both Anglo American and Arc Minerals are both listed on the United Kingdom’s Stock Exchange, such criminal activity must not be expected from a government that boasts of intolerance to fraud, as neither Anglo American nor Arc Minerals have issued cautionary statements notifying the public as required by the Financial Conduct Authority (FDA) rules of the UK.
With Anglo American shares falling by 30 percent in the last two weeks after announcing that they were cutting production in order to reduce costs, plus the sin of having dumped Zambia and left the country with vultures like KCM who destroyed a world class asset, and with their gold and copper assets in South Africa, approaching their end of mine life programmes, their only survival remains “sleepy Zambia.
First Quantum Minerals also boasted about their “end of Zambia” chapter in 2019 boasting about new projects in Panama, but they are realizing that the Panamians are not as gullible as Zambians and nobody takes their resources without them being the primary beneficiaries.
“We challenge Hon Situmbeko Musokotwane, Finance minister of Zambia, the Secretary to the Treasury and the prominent economists in Zambia to look at the public equity in Zambia’s Mining Assets as a practical alternative to sovereign guaranties and bonds which have been undervalued because of abuse,” sources demanded. “When you issue a KCM Green bond like the likes which CEC has issued which has a small balance sheet compared to these Mining companies like KCM and Mopani, you don’t need to send our Republican President Hakainde Hichilema to go begging for a debt relief from IMF, World Bank and the Chinese. We exaggerate the importance of Ms Kristalina Georgieva and Ms Anna Bjerde the two MDs of IMF and World Bank respectively.”
While the IMF and WB “sell you a belief and you borrow perception”, Zambia has high grade uranium whose price is 21 times that of copper, with the price now going for $178,000 per ton, while copper is at $8,300 per ton, and the country could do minerals/debt swaps and sell in-ground assets on the futures market and trade them.
“The problem is we are stuck with the 20th Century Economics, we are woven into our own self-inflicted bureaucracy and inferiority complex that’s why we believe Arc Minerals and Anglo American can raise capital using our own in-ground assets whilst we go and beg IMF and World Bank as owners,” sources mourned. “We are so involved in things that don’t add value to our economy including useless political and social media stories whilst foreigners see value in your rural areas and announce your assets overseas and share price rise and they make millions of dollars whilst you cry about the exchange rate and the price of mealie meal.”
Calls made to Schirnding and Patel went unanswered. The call made to Mines permanent secretary Hapenga Kabeta was answered by a lady named Lumba who said the permanent secretary had gone for a meeting.
The phone calls to Kabuswe did not gone through as his line was off.[/pp-logged-users]
