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Mwana Africa looks to refinance BNC, mulls Chinese jv

November 05, 2009 - 12:04 GMT Location: Harare

KEYWORDS: clementine wallop , mwana africa , kalaa mpinga , nickel , cobalt , copper , trojan , lme

Mwana Africa is looking at ways to finance the restart of its Bindura Nickel Corp subsidiary and may sign a joint venture or offtake agreement with a Chinese partner, company executives said this week

BNC’s mines have been on care and maintenance since November 2008 and the smelting operations have been suspended since March amid turmoil in the Zimbabwean economy and poor nickel demand. In mid-September, Mwana announced it was looking at ways of reopening the operation profitably. Mwana has finished its study of the restart and is looking at financing options for Bindura, ceo Kalaa Mpinga said, speaking at a site visit to the plant. “What is stopping us, now that we have finished the study, is that we have to look at funding strategies for the operation. Ideally we need to recapitalise BNC,” he said, but added that any refinancing will follow close consultation with the Zimbabwean government. The Zimbabwean government holds 20% of BNC, while Mwana holds 53%. The company is also listed on the Harare Stock Exchange. “The government stake has to be diluted – everyone will have to be diluted,”...

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