Caledonia Mining Corporation is considering listing on Zimbabwe’s proposed new stock exchange, said Bloomberg News citing the company.
“We understand that the proposal is for the exchange to trade solely in US dollars and would expect this continued assurance,” Caledonia spokeswoman Camilla Horsfall said in an e-mailed response to questions.
The exchange, known as VFEX, will be based in the resort town of Victoria Falls and will trade in dollars exclusively as the government seeks to lure much-needed foreign currency. It remains in talks to secure more listings, said Bloomberg.
VFEX is offering incentives, including a waiver on capital gains tax. It also plans to provide political-risk cover, said the newswire.
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While the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe will initially provide settlement for trades, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube wants this task handed to a global lender, and talks are underway with firms in Africa, Asia and Europe.
Caledonia Mining currently operates the 58,000 ounce a year Blanket mine in the southwest of Zimbabwe. Whilst the company is expanding Blanket to about 80,000 oz a year by 2022, it recently said it was considering acquisitions.
Earlier this month, Caledonia CEO, Steve Curtis, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Zimbabwe government to evaluate some of the gold assets of Mining Development Corporation, a state-owned company, pending possible purchases.
“We are excited to start our exercise in evaluating the potential that is inside that portfolio,” said Steve Curtis, MD of Caledonia at a ceremony in Harare attended by the country’s president Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Source: Mining MX