HARARE African Consolidated Resources (ACR) has entered into a partnership with an obscure group of individuals loosely known as the SSSB Group for the development of a gold mine in the north of the country.The British-based company, at the centre of a long-running legal dispute with the Zimbabwe government over control of the controversial Marange diamond fields, said the memorandum of understanding with the SSSB Group would allow the development of open cast mining operations at the proposed Pickstone Peerless gold mine in Mashonaland Central. We have a high degree of confidence in the skill sets that have come on board and I expect to bring more good news to the market in this regard over the coming years,” ACR chief executive Andrew Cranswick said last week.
It was not clear who the members of the SSSB Group are or whether they are black Zimbabweans, with ACR only saying it is made up a number of highly experienced mining experts with many years of international experience in senior executive positions at major international companies. The move could be an attempt by ACR to bring in senior black Zimbabweans into its operations to avert similar problems encountered at its Marange claim which was forcibly taken over by the government in 2006.
ACR is locked in a legal battle with the Harare authorities over ownership of the Marange diamond claims after the High Court ruled in
the companys favour Members of the SSSB Group are believed to have a wealth of experience in Africa, including Zimbabwe, where they have been instrumental in the success of a variety of gold, nickel, copper, platinum, chrome and coal operations.
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