Asa Resources Group is a

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

company based in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. 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 London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St P ...

Alternative Investment Market AIM (formerly the Alternative Investment Market) is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange that was launched on 19 June 1995 as a replacement to the previous Unlisted Securities Market (USM) that had been in operation since 1980. It allows ...

. Asa was founded in 1987.

History

2003-2015: Beginning of the company

ASA founded in 2003 by a consortium of businesspeople, including Kalaa Katema Mpinga, David Fish, Tim Wadeson, Oliver Mandishona Chidawu and Douglas Tawanda Munetsi. Then Mwana Africa, in 2003 ASA became the majority shareholder in

Bindura Nickel Corporation Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC) is a mining company based in Zimbabwe's Mashonaland Central.

after acquiring it from Anglo American Corporation. The following year, it acquired the majority share in Freda Rebecca Gold Mine. It is based in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. China International Mining Group Corporation (CIMGC) became an ASA shareholder in 2012 when it injected $21 million into restarting Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC). In 2012, ASA injected $23 million into BNC, allowing it to refurbish its Trojan Mine. Between 2003 and 2015, ASA loaned $11 million to Freda Rebecca Gold Mine, with ASA placed under administration in the United Kingdom. The firm had a poor financial performance in 2013, with losses totaling $42.5 million, more than $35 million more than the previous year. This was due to a $43.7 million impairment charge for its

Bindura Nickel Corporation Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC) is a mining company based in Zimbabwe's Mashonaland Central.

(BNC) operations in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

. In October 2013, Asa appointed Yim Chiu Kwan as its finance director. In 2014, Mwana Africa fired chairperson Mark Wellesley-Wood "amid suspicion he was an agent for a hostile takeover" by Centar Mining."Mwana Africa sacks chairman"
'' The Herald'' (February 26, 2014) Mwana Africa in September 2015, rebranded as Asa Resources, with Mwana Africa changing their name after the exit of Mwana founder Kalaa Mpinga. Mawana acquired BNC in 2015.

2016-2018

In 2016, it owned 85% of the Freda Rebecca gold mine, based in Zimbabwe."Changes at Asa Resources"
'' Mining Journal'' (December 16, 2016) ASA between 2015 and April 2017 was accused of mismanagement due to the dominance of its shareholder China International Group Corporation. In Zimbabwe, there were disputes between Freda Rebecca Gold Mine employees and Asa Resources over salary drops and management changes, with workers giving notice of intention to strike."Freda Rebecca, workers in wrangle"
''The Herald'' (April 5, 2017) In April 2017, ASA chairman and CEO Yat Hoi Nang was fired over allegations of fraud. He had been appointed executive chairman in mid-2015. In July 2017 as well, ASA's shares on the London exchange were suspended, after alleged improper accounting of assets among subsidiaries. In 2017, a manhunt was triggered by Zimbabwean authorities for two former ASA Resource Group executives, over allegations of fraud. At the time, the former CEO and finance director had been missing for several months."Missing ASA Resource Group bosses in £3,2m mining scandal"
''Nehanda Radio'' (December 29, 2017) $4.3 million were reported unaccounted for, but the company said operations would continue."ASA Resources says $4.3m unaccounted for, but operations continue"
Megan Van Wyngaardt, ''

Mining Weekly ''Mining Weekly'' is South Africa’s premier source of weekly news on mining developments in Africa’s most important industry. ''Mining Weekly'' provides in-depth coverage of mining projects & the personalities reshaping the mining industry. ...

'' (April 19, 2017) It was reported that Asa was facing a hostile takeover by Rich Pro, a Chinese firm allegedly connected to the two missing executives. The Rich Pro bid had been criticised by shareholders for being too low. In February 2018, 10 firms under ASA Resources Group were "seeking to be placed under provisional judicial management citing viability challenges," including Freda Rebecca Holdings, Hunter’s Road Nickel Mine, Trojan Nickel Mine, BSR Limited, Greenline Enterprises, ASA Services Zimbabwe, Bindura Estates and Mwana Properties. The company delisted in London in March 2018"ASA Resources delists from London"
Tawanda Musarurwa, ''eBusinessWeekly'' (March 6, 2018) after "delays in fixing a deep cash flow crisis." At the time, David Murangari was head of the board, while Toindepi Muganyi was interim CEO. In 2018, a number of its mines were struggling with debt, with Freda Rebecca partly attributing the issue to mismanagement by ASA Resource Group."Mines reel under $31m debt"
Charles Laiton, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' (February 23, 2018) Panaf was bidding to buy ASA Resource Group's assets in January 2018."Panaf revealed as mystery bidder for stricken ASA Resource Group"
David McKay, ''Miningmx'' (January 29, 2018) In December that year, it struck a deal with an unnamed company to sell its stake in BNC."UK firm strikes deal to take over Zim nickel producer BNC"
''

The Zimbabwe Mail ''The Mail'' is a private daily newspaper in Zimbabwe. It is claimed that the newspaper is the only balanced newspaper in Zimbabwe, with its between the line editorial. The daily newspaper became Zimbabwe's first daily newspaper to be registered a ...

'' (December 20, 2018)

2019-2020

In 2019, ASA Resources in Zimbabwe included its two major mines and an agribusiness venture. It also had diamond operations in South Africa and copper in the Congo. Further assets included a nickel mine in

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalaha ...

and a base metal exploration in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was working on finalizing its exit from BNC to an unnamed mining company by October 2019."ASA Resources nears BNC exit"
''Zimbabwe Situation'' (October 31, 2019)"ASA Resources nears BNC exit"
Tawanda Musarurwa, '' The Herald'' (October 30, 2019) At the time, ASA Resource group was struggling to pay creditors. In 2019, it was still producing gold through its Fred Rebecca gold mine in Zimbabwe."Production resumes at three Zim gold mines as more feared dead"
Tawanda Karombo, ''

iol Cherchell (Arabic: شرشال) is a town on Algeria's Mediterranean coast, west of Algiers. It is the seat of Cherchell District in Tipaza Province. Under the names Iol and Caesarea, it was formerly a Roman colony and the capital of the kin ...

'' (February 15, 2019) The mine was debt-ridden at the time, with Freda Rebecca Gold Mine and nine other gold mining firms under ASA Resources Group "seeking to be placed under provisional judicial management citing viability challenges.""Debt-ridden Freda Rebecca Mine applies for judicial management"
''Nehanda Radio'' (February 24, 2018) There had also been legal battles between the boards of ASA and Freda Rebecca Holdings."Musanhi, Freda battle escalates"
'' The Herald'' (October 24, 2017) The sale of BNC was finalized in October 2019, with some technical hurdles remaining. At the time, BNC had halted its smelter construction project, and was entirely focused on its "shaft deepening project."

Operations

Asa's products include

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow ...

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, p ...

and, more recently,

diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, bu ...

and

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

. Major mining operation interests as of 2007:

By country

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

**Zani-Kodo Joint Venture:

** Societé minière de Bakwanga (MIBA):

**Gravity Diamonds **Katanga Concessions:

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

** Konongo:

**Banka: gold ** Ahanta: gold *

** Bindura Nickel:

*** Bindura Smelter and Refinery Complex **Hunter's Road:

**Freda Rebecca Mine: gold **Maligreen Mine: formerly Cluff Mining; gold **Makaha Deposit

Companies

*SouthernEra Diamonds, of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, the Democratic Republic of Congo,

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. Asa maintains a corporate office in South Africa. The company is expanding its operations by acquiring extant mining

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

References

External links

*{{Official website, www.asaukplc.com Companies based in Johannesburg Mining companies based in London Mining companies of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mining in Ghana Mining in Zimbabwe Mining in South Africa Copper mining companies of the United Kingdom Diamond mining companies Gold mining companies South African companies established in 2005 Companies formerly listed on the Alternative Investment Market