adminPRODUCTION of chrome ore in Zimbabwe is expected to reach 550 000 tons this year, up from 284 943 tons mined last year after the Government acquires excess land that Zimasco holds, a Cabinet Minister has said.
Following negotiations with the Government, Zimasco, the biggest producer of chrome in Zimbabwe, ceded 50 percent of its claims which will be re-distributed to various beneficiaries including small-scale miners, medium scale beneficiation plants and new smelters.
The claims amount to 21 270 hectares, and it is from these that the Government expects a boost in chrome ore production.
Mines and Mining Development Minister Walter Chidhakwa said the re-distribution of the idle claims was partly motivated by the need to broaden indigenous participation in the sub-sector while also generating much needed revenue for the fiscus.
“We expect that some 550 000 tons of chrome ore will be exported,” he said on Thursday.
On the other hand, Minister Chidhakwa said, high carbon ferrochrome production was also expected to increase to 300 000 tons, up from 149 000 tons mined last year.
High carbon ferrochrome is derived from smelted chrome ore. Minister Chidhakwa said expectations were that Zimasco and Afrochine would bring in more smelting capacity during the course of the year.
“We also expect that Zimasco will do one or two more things on their slug dumps. We expect that the slug dumps at ZimAlloys will be activated and we are therefore projecting, from an actual of 149 000 tons last year, we are projecting 300 000 tons of ferrochrome for 2017.”
He expressed concern that the Government was losing out on much needed revenue through the export of raw chrome and in the long-run it would push for total local beneficiation.
For example, in 2016 Minister Chidhakwa said the country earned only $31 million from the export of 284 943 tons of raw chrome compared to $115 million realised through the export of only 149 000 tons of high carbon ferrochrome.
“My heart bleeds because when you look at the figures and this justifies why we had put the ban (on chrome ore exports) in the first place,” he said.
“You see the imperative for value addition, you see why we keep saying we want beneficiation plants to be established because we earn much more when we beneficiate other than the issue of creating jobs.”
The Government lifted the ban on chrome ore exports in 2015 which had been in place since 2011 to encourage local beneficiation and value addition.
Concentrated mainly along the Great Dyke, Zimbabwe’s chrome deposits are the second largest in the world after South Africa.
— New Ziana
Online Reporter