Gold Shines Bright in 2024 Market.
Gold prices rose high this year. The precious metal gained 27 percent, marking one of its best years since 2000. Buyers rushed to gold as the U.S. changed its money policies. World tensions and bank buying pushed prices up further.
The metal lost some shine after Donald Trump won in November. Yet gold stands out among raw materials this year. Other metals showed mixed results. Iron prices fell hard. Lithium prices dropped even more.
The gold market changed its old rules. It went up even when the dollar grew stronger, surprising many experts. "Gold broke all expectations," said David Scutt from StoneX Group. The market plays by new rules."
China's slow growth hurt other metals. Copper and zinc faced...
Mining Firm Pours Millions Into Zimbabwe Platinum Project.
A big mining company keeps building its new platinum mine in Zimbabwe. Tharisa Capital has spent $131.3 million on the Karo project since mid-2022. The company needs $391 million to finish the first part.
The project faces some delays. Tharisa wanted to start mining late this year, but falling metal prices forced them to push the start date to June 2025.
Platinum brings lots of money into Zimbabwe. The country sells more platinum than almost anything else except gold. These precious metals make up most of what Zimbabwe sells to other nations.
The mine shows good progress, says company leader Phoevos Pouroulis. Workers finished moving the earth around. They built half the...
World Coal Use Keeps Growing Despite Climate Fears.
People around the world keep burning more coal each year. The International Energy Agency says this trend will last until at least 2027. This news hurts plans to fight climate change.
Coal use might reach 8.9 billion tons by 2027. Earlier reports thought coal burning peaked last year. But fresh data shows coal keeps growing strong, often faster than experts predict.
World leaders met in Glasgow three years ago. They claimed coal's end was near. Yet rich nations burn less coal as poor ones burn more. China leads this surge, picking coal because it costs less than other power sources.
Earth needs less coal to stay cool. The Paris Agreement wants countries to cut coal fast. But Earth...
High Court Weighs Power Struggle in Zimbabwe Opposition Party.
A fight over who leads Zimbabwe's main opposition party reached the High Court. Two men claim the right to name party leaders in Parliament.
Professor Welshman Ncube says he runs the Citizens Coalition for Change party. He wants to stop changes made by Sengezo Tshabangu, who fired several party members from their jobs in Parliament.
Ncube asked the court to block these moves. His team says the party rules don't let Tshabangu make such big choices. But Tshabangu's lawyers say the changes already happened, and the court can't undo them.
Judge Neville Wamambo listened to both sides and will decide if the case can proceed. The fight started when Tshabangu appointed new...
Chinese Businessman Charged in Zimbabwe Mining Scheme.
A court in Harare heard charges against Lui Bo, who faces fraud claims after a trick gone wrong. The Chinese businessman told a truck company he needed to move chrome. Instead, he packed their truck with lithium ore.
The switch came to light when tax officers stopped the truck at Forbes Border Post. They found lithium inside, not chrome. The truck belonged to Mugwazi Transport Company, run by Richard Mugwazi.
Back in October, Lui asked to rent a truck. He said he wanted to send chrome from Zimbabwe through Beira port to China. He promised all papers were right and paid $750 for the trip.
The truth came out at the border. Officers found lithium quartz where the chrome should have...
Gold Thieves Strike Zimbabwe Mines in Wave of Crime.
Armed robbers hit a mine in Filabusi last Friday night. Seven men with weapons stole gold-rich carbon worth $22,400. The gang used machetes and logs to attack three guards before breaking into the storage room.
Police Chief Paul Nyathi said the police want help finding the criminals. He asked people with tips to call their local police station.
This marks the second mine robbery in a week. Earlier, eight robbers took $36,000 worth of gold carbon from a Bindura mine. The group carried a rifle, stones, and logs. They hurt a guard and broke into the storage area. Police are still searching for these suspects.
The crime wave spread beyond mines. Robbers struck a bank at Kamunhu...
Zimbabwe Grows More Food With New Water Plan.
Zimbabwe wants more farms to use water pipes and sprinklers. The country plans to water 120,000 fields this year, up from 75,000 last year.
Leonard Munamati runs the farm advice office. He said farmers will grow corn on 50,000 fields. They plan to add beans to 40,000 more fields. The rest will grow other crops.
Farmers own many machines to help grow food. They have over 15,000 tractors and 300 big machines that pick crops. These tools can farm more than a million fields. By early December, farmers had already dug up 2.6 million fields.
The water office makes sure farms get what they need. Each farmer must sign up to get water for their crops. Banks promised money to help farms grow more...
Zimbabwe Brings Back Old Way to Grow Tobacco.
Farmers in Zimbabwe found a better way to grow tobacco. They let it dry in the air instead of burning wood. This old method came back after 62 years away.
The change started small last year. Just 17 farmers tried it on tiny plots. They grew 4,000 kilos of tobacco. Atlas Agri, the company behind this idea, helped them learn how.
This year brought big growth. The farms grew nine times bigger. About 140 small farmers joined the Mangwe district. They plant tobacco and let nature dry it. No trees were cut down.
"Our farmers love this method," said Alex Mackay from Atlas Agri. He leads the project. One farmer, Martin Nguni, sold his crop for $3.10 per kilo. That success made others want to...
Zimbabwe's Dairy Farms Hit Record Milk Output.
Zimbabwe's dairy farms produced more milk than ever this year. By November, farmers had produced 105 million liters, beating the old record from 2005.
Local farmers worked hard to make more milk at home instead of buying it from other countries. The Dairy Services Unit showed milk output went up 16 percent from last year.
Edward Warambwa leads the Zimbabwe dairy farmers group. He said everyone has helped bring back dairy farming since 2012. But farms need better milk prices and cheaper animal feed to grow more. They want loans and power that stays on.
Warambwa said farms need water systems to grow food for cows and solar panels to keep milk cold when power goes out. Some people sneak...
