The Business Reporter article, 13 May 2012

On Sunday 13 May 2012 the Sunday Telegraph in the UK carried an article about the dispute over the mining licenses. Despite appearances to the contrary, this was not written by a Sunday Telegraph journalist and is not to be regarded as independent reporting.

Riddle of the Sands - the Noseweek magazine exposé

Riddle of the sands

Issue #150, 1st April 2012

A few weeks ago Nick Trew, chief executive of London-listed Pathfinder Minerals Plc, and his ever-present PR sidekick Ben Simons, called to alert Noseweek to intrigue and skulduggery surrounding valuable titanium and zircon deposits in Mozambique.

Indian Ocean coast in Mozambique's Zambezia Province, where Pathfinder Minerals claims concessions

They told how a Mozambique general – a decorated war hero and president of the South Africa-Mozambique Friendship Association – has set up a company with the same name as theirs and hijacked their mining licences, potentially worth many billions. He had, until recently, been Pathfinder’s local business partner.

Trew and Simons, on a brief visit to South Africa, had wished to set up a meeting to brief Noseweek. In the event, it was only several days later – when they had returned to the UK – that our reporter managed to catch up with them by telephone for what he thought would be a lengthy interview. It was certainly lengthy, but not quite an interview: “Can I assume that Nick is not being quoted?” asks Simons, who hails from M:Communications, the strategic consulting arm of global financial and stakeholder communications firm King Worldwide. “It was made clear to your editor that this was for background and was off the record and that we could discuss any specific quotes afterwards.”