Vast Resources appoints top Zimbabwe mining figure to subsidiary board

Romania and Zimbabwe-focussed mining company Vast Resources announced the appointment of Mark Mabhudhu - a preeminent figure in the Zimbabwean diamond industry - to the board of its wholly-owned subsidiary Vast Resources Zimbabwe on Friday.

The AIM-traded firm said Mabhudhu's appointment was in line with its updated strategy to increase its footprint in Zimbabwe, seeking new opportunities and revitalising historic claims.

It said Mabhudhu, who has a BSc (Hons) degree in metallurgical engineering, an MBA, an MPhil in Information & Knowledge Management, and was currently working on his Doctoral studies, was a full-time resident of Zimbabwe and a Zimbabwean national with more than 25 years of experience in the mining industry.

Of that, more than 22 years had been focussed on diamond mining both in Zimbabwe and internationally, including 11 years with Debswana - the joint venture company between De Beers and the Government of Botswana.

Mabhudhu's recent positions included chief executive officer of the government-owned Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company, and chief executive officer and, prior to that, chief operating officer of Marange Resources.

Under his leadership as CEO of Marange Resources, Vast said Mabhudhu implemented a turnaround strategy that resulted in the company achieving profitability after several years of financial distress.

“The political amelioration in Zimbabwe over recent months has made us reevaluate our activities in the country and we are now actively seeking new opportunities and exploring options through which to revive historic claims in order to build a significant presence in the region,” said Vast Resources chief executive Andrew Prelea.

“I am confident that Mark's experience, network and influence will expedite this evaluation process as we look to expand our current mineralised footprint, comprising the Pickstone-Peerless, Giant and Eureka gold mines, to establish a significant presence in the Zimbabwean mining industry in the near term.”