Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC) is a mining company based in Zimbabwe's Mashonaland Central. [1] [2]
Bindura operates mines and a smelter complex in the area of Bindura, Zimbabwe. BNC is operated and majority-owned Mwana Africa plc, an African multinational mining company based in Johannesburg. BNC is listed on the ZSE and the VFEX.
The company's founding CEO was Kalaa Mpinga. [3]
In 2003, Anglo American sold its stake in the company, selling its 52.9% stake in Bindura Nickel Corporation to Mwana Africa Holdings for $8 million. [4] In 2004, ASA Resource Group acquired the majority share of BNC from Anglo American Corporation, owning about 75%. [5] BNC's debts subsequently went over $31 million. [5]
After the murder of BNC's chairman Leonard Chimimba in May 2006, there were media reports speculating foul play by the Botswana government. BNC hired an investigation firm in South Africa, and said there was "nothing unusual" about his death in a carjacking. [6]
After a plunge in nickel prices, in 2008 BNC began operating on "care and maintenance," i.e. sans production. [7] At the time of its shutdown, it was the only integrated nickel miner, smelter and refinery in Africa. The cost of resuming the Trojan mine was estimated at $50 million, and the Bindura complex at $150 million. Mwana owned 53% of the company. [8]
The shut down of BNC in 2008 resulted in many job losses without compensation and with employees being told not to look for other jobs as they would be reinstated once the mine re-opens. Employees who were retrenched received a stipend of $50 a month. Given that many employees have families, many left the mines with no compensation and have since struggled to make a living with very little consequence to the company.
Mwana was considering delisting BNC from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange in 2009, as it sought to raised up to $150 million to restart operations in Bindura under CEO Kalaa Mpinga. [9] In September 2011, the company received a $10 million dollar loan to pay for operations while the company sought restart funding. [7] In 2012, after it was closed, BNC stated that it would again begin underground operations at Trojan Nickel Mine. [10] In 2012, China International Mining Group Corporation spent $21 million to recapitalise BNC. [11]
A $43.7 million impairment charge for Bindura Nickel Corporation’s operations in Zimbabwe resulted in huge losses for its parent company, Mwana Africa in 2013. The losses totaled $42.5 million, more than $35 million more than the previous year. [12] At the time, the CEO of BNC was Kalaa Mpinga. Prior to the impairment, the company had shown its first profit since 2007, with revenues in 2013 of $109 million. [12] In 2013, Mpinga stated that a plan to develop Bindura's " refinery and smelter at Mwana's nickel operations" would be enacted by 2014. The mine and plant had been put on hold in 2008 due to weak nickel prices, but had been restarted in 2012. [13]
BNC in 2014 was operating the Freda Rebecca gold mine in Zimbabwe. The mine was complying with a law newly enforced by Zimbabwe that required 51% of the company be held by black nationals of the country. [14]
The company was the best performer on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange in 2014. [15] After a dip in Bindura Nickel Corporation's share price in 2015, there were reports that the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange had struggled as a result, with the mining index dropping 50% that year. BNC that year was the second worst performer on the exchange. [16]
In 2015, ASA gained control of the company and its assets, after acquiring BNC's holding company Mwana Africa and expelling founder Kalaa Mpinga from the company. [17] The "coup" was orchestrated by Chinese International Mining Group Corporation (CIMGC), BNC's largest shareholder, and CIMGC chairman Yot Hoi Ning. [18] BNC was 75% owned by Mwana Africa in August 2015, with Kalaa Mpinga bidding to retain his position as BNC chairman despite being forced out of Mwana on June 10 after clashes with shareholders. [19]
In 2015, the company stopped its Trojan Mine restart program and re-deep project. [3] The company continued a restructuring in 2015, firing 350 workers, with intent to reduce headcount by up to 1,150 people. [20] Yat Hoi Ning was serving as executive chairman. [20] In 2016, the company cut production costs, increasing gross production and increasing profit by 261%. [21] The following year, their Trojan mine smelter was stalled over a lack of funding. [22] At the time, it was still Africa's only integrated nickel producer. [23]
After 2017, Chinese group ASA Resources Group said it was selling its stake in Bindura Nickel Corporation. At the time, ASA operated Trojan Nickel Mine through BNC. [17] In January 2017, Asa Resources owned 76% of BNC. [11]
By July 2018, the company was in the red, with assets of $28 million and liabilities totaling $32.7 million. [1] At that point, the smelter restart project at Bindura had been suspended due to funding constraints, and was 83% complete. [1] At that time, the company pointed to hobbling power costs in Zimbabwe, and was pressing the government for a "standstill on electricity costs in order to keep the industry viable." [24]
In 2019, BNC was lobbying the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to change forex rules relating to mining companies. [25] In 2019, it was saying that its Trojan Mine smelter would be operational by October 2020. The company had recently been acquired by Sotic International. [26]
In 2019, it was working on a feasibility study of a $200 million Hunters Road mine, which was estimated to have 200,000 tons of nickel. [2] In September 2019, BNC was evaluating takeover bids. [5] In 2020, BNC was headed by CEO Batirai Manhando. [27]
The chairman is Muchadeyi Masunda. [24]
Mines
Products include nickel, copper and cobalt.
Smelter
BNC may refer to:
Vale Canada Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Brazilian mining company Vale. Vale's nickel mining and metals division is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It produces nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium, gold, and silver. Prior to being purchased by CVRD in 2006, Inco was the world's second largest producer of nickel, and the third largest mining company outside South Africa and Russia of platinum group metals. It was also a charter member of the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average formed on October 1, 1928.
Freeport-McMoRan Inc., often called Freeport, is an American mining company based in the Freeport-McMoRan Center, in Phoenix, Arizona. The company is the world's largest producer of molybdenum, a major copper producer and operates the world's largest gold mine, the Grasberg mine in Papua, Indonesia.
Anglo American plc is a British multinational mining company with headquarters in London, England. It is the world's largest producer of platinum, with around 40% of world output, as well as being a major producer of diamonds, copper, nickel, iron ore, polyhalite and steelmaking coal. The company has operations in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America.
Bindura is a city in the province of Mashonaland Central province, Zimbabwe. It is located in the Mazowe Valley about 88 km north-east of Harare. According to the 1982 Population Census, the city had a population of 18,243. This rose to 21,167 in the 1992 census and in the 2012 census it had reached 46,275. It is the administrative capital of the province. Bindura Nickel, now called Trojan Nickel Mine, a subsidiary of Mwana Africa plc, mines nickel, copper and cobalt in the area and operates a smelter refinery just south of the town. Cotton and maize are grown intensely in the region. The first basic school in Bindura opened in 1912.
KGHM Polska Miedź S.A., commonly known as KGHM, is a Polish multinational mining corporation headquartered in Lubin, Lower Silesia, Poland. Founded in 1961 as a state enterprise, the company is considered a major global producer of copper and silver. Since 1997, it has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE). The company is also a component of the WIG30 stock market index.
Vedanta Resources Limited is a diversified mining company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest mining and non-ferrous metals company in India and has mining operations in Australia and Zambia and oil and gas operations in three countries. Its main products are Zinc, Lead, Silver, Oil & Gas, Iron Ore, Steel, Aluminium and Power. It has also developed commercial power stations in India in Odisha and Punjab.
United Company RUSAL, international public joint-stock company is the world's second largest aluminium company by primary production output. It was the largest until overtaken by China Hongqiao Group in 2015. UC RUSAL accounts for almost 9% of the world's primary aluminium output and 9% of the world's alumina production.
Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation PLC (ENRC) was a public, Kazakhstan/Central African-focused, multinational leading diversified natural resources company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It had activities in integrated mining, processing, energy, logistics and marketing.
Stillwater Mining Company is a palladium and platinum mining company with headquarters located at Littleton, Colorado, United States. It is the only palladium and platinum producer in the USA. The only other North America based palladium/platinum producer is North American Palladium, located in Canada. In 2017 it was acquired by Sibanye Gold Limited, who then began trading as Sibanye-Stillwater
Asa Resources Group is a mining company based in Johannesburg and London. According to the company's website, it is the first African-owned and African-managed business to be listed in the Resources sector of the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market. Asa was founded in 1987.
Mount Keith Mine is an open pit nickel mine in Western Australia. It is operated by BHP. The site's closest landmark is the town of Wiluna, 85 km (53 mi) to the north.
JCI or Johannesburg Consolidated Investment Co. Ltd. was founded in 1889 by the British entrepreneur Barney Barnato. JCI was a major force in South African mining for over 100 years. Using his investments in the Kimberley diamond fields, particularly his 25% share in De Beers, Barnato foresaw the value of and invested in the potential of the Witwatersrand gold mines. At first he bought small but rich mines near Germiston – the New Primrose, named after his daughter, and others in the same region.
The second-largest mineral industry in the world is the mineral industry of Africa, which implies large quantities of resources due to Africa being the second largest continent, with 30.37 million square kilometres of land.With a population of 1.4 billion living there, mineral exploration and production constitute significant parts of their economies for many African countries and remain keys to economic growth. Africa is richly endowed with mineral reserves and ranks first in quantity of world reserves for bauxite, cobalt, industrial diamond, phosphate rock, platinum-group metals (PGM), vermiculite, and zirconium.
Hindustan Copper Ltd. is a central public sector undertaking under the ownership of the Ministry of Mines, Government of India. HCL is the only vertically integrated government-owned-copper producer in India engaged in a wide spectrum of activities ranging from mining, beneficiation, smelting, refining and continuous cast rod manufacturer.
Nickel mining in Western Australia has been an industry that has had many fluctuations of fortune in its history. Large fluctuations in the world nickel price have seen mines close and reopen on several occasions.
Gencor Ltd was a South African based mining company. It was formed in 1980 after the merger of the General Mining and Finance Corporation and the Union Corporation. Parts of the company are now owned by Gold Fields and BHP.
The Kwinana Nickel Refinery is a nickel refinery in East Rockingham and Kwinana Beach, Western Australia. The refinery is operated by BHP and part of its Nickel West operations. Having originally been built by WMC Resources, it changed ownership in 2005 when BHP acquired WMC.