Latest news with #NsimbiMining
Daily Maverick
12 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Mozambique mining drama — Nsimbi Mining Services announces mystery equity partner amid layoffs and strikes
Nsimbi Mining Services, the mining company at the centre of a hostage drama at a coal mine in Mozambique two months ago, says it has a new partner, and its priority is to pay outstanding salaries. Nsimbi Mining Services, the contractor supporting the Moatize Coal Mine in Mozambique's Tete province, has confirmed the arrival of a new equity partner, whose identity remains undisclosed. The announcement comes amid ongoing retrenchments, unpaid salaries, and worker strikes that have deepened the company's operational crisis. Equity deal in progress Nsimbi Mining executive managing director Craig Dube told Daily Maverick that while Nsimbi Mining has not been sold, a new partner has come on board, and the immediate priority is to 'deal with outstanding salaries and severance packages'. 'We agreed on a deal in principle, and lawyers are currently busy with the administration and paperwork,' Dube said. He also added that funds will only become available once the deal is finalised. Workers' frustrations Despite management's assurances, frustration among workers remains high. An anonymous employee described the situation as 'very bad'. confirming that a strike took place on Wednesday, 18 June, with workers demanding their long-overdue salaries. 'They have stopped operations at the mine because it is now a risk for anyone who is seen working, driving or associated with Nsimbi properties,' the worker said. The employee added that unpaid workers have threatened to destroy anything linked to Nsimbi in their communities. 'It is getting worse than it was; people have not been paid until today… the local workers have been retrenched without being paid what is due to them,' the worker said. Worker unrest The retrenchments followed an incident almost two months ago on 29 April, when mine managers were held hostage at the company offices by angry workers demanding months of unpaid wages. This standoff, driven by financial difficulties and withheld passports, left staff stranded and desperate. According to the worker, two South Africans in Mozambique were promised payment by the company on 30 May, but the payments did not materialise. Most other South Africans have returned home, leaving only three, including Dube's sister, who claims to have no information. 'There is an investor who is supposed to bring in equity, but … people who are owed money are now losing their patience,' the worker told Daily Maverick. The human toll The human cost of Nsimbi's collapse is starkly illustrated by Nicolus Molapo's plight. Unable to afford a dignified burial for his late mother because of months of unpaid wages, he embodies the desperation gripping workers. Molapo shared email correspondence with the company. In the email, Nsimbi confirmed his dismissal, stating that 'the majority of the company has been sold' and that he would need to wait for the paperwork to be finalised before receiving his outstanding salary – he is owed about five months' salary. When Molapo asked about returning to work, the response was clear: 'You will NOT be required back.' The reason for this, he was told, would be communicated once his salary was settled. A screen shot of email correspondence between worker Nicolus Molapo and Nsimbi Mining Services. (Image: Supplied) How Nsimbi Mining got here Founded in 2016, Nsimbi Mining set out to provide innovative equipment and tailored solutions to the mining industry across South Africa and the rest of Africa. The company's mission focused on enhancing safety, improving productivity and reducing operational costs by delivering cutting-edge technology and environmentally friendly solutions. Nsimbi offered a comprehensive range of services for open-pit mining operations, including contract drilling, load and haul services, equipment maintenance and supply of spare parts. Its fleet was equipped with modern service vehicles, on-board welding facilities and communication systems. The company grew by supplying equipment from well-known earthmoving brands and offering leasing options and on-site technical support. It positioned itself as a disruptor in the earthmoving industry, focusing on innovative products and customer-centric service models. However, since early 2024, Nsimbi Mining Services has struggled with delayed payments to workers and suppliers, leading to strikes and unrest. In April 2025, tensions peaked when striking miners held South African managers hostage at the company's Tete offices, demanding months of unpaid wages. Since then, operations have been largely paralysed, with about 200 workers on strike demanding payment of three months' wage arrears. Uncertain future With lawyers still finalising the deal with the new equity partner, Nsimbi Mining Services remains in a state of operational and financial uncertainty. Workers and creditors continue to await overdue payments and clarity on the company's future. DM
Daily Maverick
01-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
‘All we want is our money' — Nsimbi miners holding SA managers hostage in Mozambique
Three Nsimbi Mining managers remain confined at a Mozambican coal mine office as angry workers demand months of unpaid wages. The standoff, fuelled by financial woes and withheld passports, has left staff stranded, desperate, and on the brink of survival. Workers at Nsimbi Mining's Tete operations in Mozambique have continued to prevent three of the company's managers from leaving the mine's offices, believing they want to flee the country without paying workers their outstanding wages. South Africans Japie du Toit and Shedrick Festus, as well as Mozambican Mary Chuva, have been confined since Tuesday, 29 April. Workers insist they will not release the officials until outstanding payments are made. Bernardo Sibangani, a former drilling manager who later became a superintendent at Nsimbi, said that while the detained officials were unharmed and could eat and move freely within the office, their confinement stemmed from rumours that Du Toit intended to leave Mozambique without settling outstanding wages. Du Toit told Daily Maverick on Thursday that he was 'tied up in negotiations' with the workers. He previously said he needed to travel to South Africa for medical reasons. Although Du Toit told Daily Maverick that 25 to 30 employees were blockading the offices and preventing his departure, Club of Mozambique reported on the same day that about 200 workers had been on strike since Monday, 28 April. 'The situation is still the same as yesterday, and because it is Workers' Day today, I do not expect any progress. The sympathy will be with the workers and not the employers today,' Du Toit said on Thursday. Nsimbi Mining MD Craig Dube said on Thursday, 'We are in the middle of negotiations now.' Nsimbi Mining, headquartered in Kempton Park, Gauteng, provides support services to the Moatize Coal Mine in Tete, operated by Vulcan International, part of India's sprawling Jindal Group. Months without pay Dube previously claimed workers were demanding wages for stretches when they had not worked due to political unrest in the country, which employees have strenuously denied. They insist that the real issue is months of unpaid wages for work already completed. Nicolus Molapo, a senior survey employee, recounted how he and others went without pay from January to March 2024. He said this had forced him to resign, only to be recalled in June 2024 when the company needed his skills. Even then, payments remained chronically late and communication from management was virtually nonexistent. 'People were working for months without pay. We had no money for food and electricity, nothing to send home to our families,' Molapo told Daily Maverick. 'All we want is our money… The one thing that is frustrating everyone [is] there is zero communication,' he said, sharing screenshots of his attempts to communicate with the company and its lack of response. Molapo painted a stark picture of a mounting personal crisis. 'We are eating the last eggs and pap. I do not have a plan for tomorrow. I was gone for over a month, but have nothing to show for it… The banks want money, not papers of promises from the company.' He said several colleagues had already been evicted from their homes after failing to pay rent, a fate he fears he may soon face. The crisis extends beyond unpaid employees. A former supplier, speaking anonymously to Daily Maverick, described a parallel pattern of broken promises since March 2024, with initial on-time payments devolving into mounting arrears and currently stands at about R600,000 still owed by Nsimbi. The supplier, who invested heavily to fulfil orders, said they had halted deliveries in early August 2024 after unpaid invoices forced them into debt. 'I borrowed to supply them and never got paid,' the supplier said. One of the workers, Sibangani, said he had started a small business to provide food and drinks on credit to colleagues in the hope they would be paid. 'I personally have a restaurant and I have been assisting South African colleagues with food and drinks, hoping to be paid when they are paid, but now I'm risking closing the restaurant because they have not been paid since January and still need assistance,' he said. Stranded without passports Several South African workers claimed that they were unable to leave Mozambique because the company was allegedly withholding their passports. 'Most of us went there without visas. Upon arrival, Mary Chuva, the HR manager for Nsimbi, asked for our passports so that they can hand them to the Mozambican immigration office for visas. For some, those passports were not returned until recently,' Molapo said. Others were still waiting for their passports. 'At this point in time, there are some who have their South African families willing to pick them [up], but because the company [has] their passports, they have no way of leaving,' Sibangani said. Nsimbi's Dube told Daily Maverick, 'The passports for some expats were submitted for visa renewal, so we are waiting for them.' Struggling to stay afloat Dube acknowledged the company's longstanding financial difficulties, noting that the challenges predated Du Toit's appointment as manager. Du Toit was brought in after the previous management team was removed due to evidence of corruption and mismanagement, which prompted a full restructuring and audit of the company. Dube did not dispute that workers had gone unpaid, explaining that the company had invested heavily in new production machinery and communicated these financial constraints to employees. He said that, despite these pressures, Nsimbi intended to pay outstanding wages, but was further hampered by unresolved banking issues that prevented scheduled payments from being processed. He did not respond directly to questions about workers' comments that they wanted what was due to them, rather than for work they didn't do while the mine was closed due to political unrest. According to Dube, discussions with potential equity partners are at advanced stages and should be concluded before the end of this month (May). 'We want them to continue working. We want the company to come out of this position soon… We have to secure our employees' jobs and at the same time make sure that the business is sustainable in the long run,' Dube said. DM
Daily Maverick
30-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
South Africans working for Nsimbi Mining held hostage in Mozambique's Tete by angry employees
This unfolding saga underscores the rising risks of Mozambique as an investment destination and the tensions still brewing there in the violent wake of the contested elections, which have led to open defiance of the police and the state. Two South African managers and a Mozambican HR manager employed by mine support company Nsimbi Mining are being held against their will at the company's offices in Tete, Mozambique, by workers angry at the non-payment of their wages over the past three months. Daily Maverick spoke on the phone with Japie du Toit, one of the South African managers being prevented from leaving the office. The other South African is production manager Shedrick Festus, and the Mozambican HR manager is Mary Chuva, a mother of two children. 'They are keeping us as collateral until they get paid,' Du Toit (63), who has been held there since Tuesday morning and needs to get to South Africa for medical reasons, told Daily Maverick. Nsimbi Mining, which is based in Kempton Park, confirmed the incident, with director Craig Dube telling Daily Maverick, 'It is very concerning.' Nsimbi got a contract last year to provide support services to Moatize Coal Mine in Tete, which is operated by Vulcan International, part of India's sprawling Jindal Group. Dube admitted the company had financial difficulties as it is tough to raise capital for coal in the current investment climate because of the fossil fuel's links to climate change. On top of that was the wave of violent unrest in the wake of last year's bitterly contested elections in Mozambique. 'There were a lot of issues in terms of management, and there was unrest in Mozambique, and we were not able to work properly for two months or so,' said Dube. 'We are busy trying to pay the employees.' Dube said many of the disgruntled employees were demanding wages for periods in which they did not work because of the political unrest. Du Toit said he had been trying to organise his flight to South Africa on Tuesday for medical reasons and to sort out the issue of payments when he and his colleagues were prevented from leaving the office. He said the instigators claimed he was trying to flee the country and that the company was pulling the plug on its work there. 'We believe in the project we are running here. Japie is coming back for medical issues and I am planning to go there next week,' Dube told Daily Maverick. Du Toit said about 25 to 30 employees were blocking the offices and logs had been placed in front of the boom gate at the entrance. He said none of the employees were carrying visible weapons, but they were an intimidating force. The local police have made no effort yet to forcefully intervene, while officials from the Labour Department have been holding talks with the employees. This unfolding saga underscores the rising risks of Mozambique as an investment destination and the tensions that are still brewing there in the wake of the elections, which have led to open defiance of the police and the state. DM
