‘Economy firmly on recovery path’

Organisers of the forthcoming Zimbabwe Mining Indaba, Utho Capital, said progress in rebuilding the economy could be measured by key role players like Anglo American, Implats and Mbada Diamonds who have remained active in the country’s mining industry.

 

“The global opinion on Zimbabwe has been negative and it’s difficult to change public perception while a country is restructuring itself for the benefit of the majority of the population. The only way to do so is for people to see first hand what Zimbabwe has to offer as a mining destination,” the company’s executive director Mr Reginald Muzariri said.

The two-day business event is slated for Harare International Conference Centre from 12 to 14 September under the theme “Improving Mining through continuous dialogue, infrastructure and financing”.

Mr Muzariri said “Smart money” understands that the mining environment in Zimbabwe has a new set of rules with serious investors continuing with their plans.

“It may be that they are now looking at commodity prices, which may impact on the quantum of investment they make.”

He said Implats has continued with its investment programme and committed at least $400 million to its operations in Zimbabwe.

“Anglo American is looking to invest about half of that and seems to be progressing on the investment front,” he said.

In addition, he said the Marange diamond fields had been certified by industry’s organisation, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme while Mbada Diamonds continued with its investments at Marange.

He said coal was another commodity on the rise in Zimbabwe and exploration in this regard was increasing. “There are large coal deposits in Zimbabwe that can be used for electricity generation, so that is an area in which we expect to see significant development in years to come.”

He said there was renewed interest to revive Mhangura copper mine which closed more than a decade ago.

Following improved price of the metal in recent years, Mr Muzariri projects that the mineral could be monitored closely for growth opportunities in Zimbabwe’s mining industry.

He also expects renewed interest in gold owing to the favourable price of the yellow metal on the international market in recent years.

Mr Muzariri, however, noted that chrome has struggled. “There was a bit of a hiatus in the chrome sector because of the moratorium on selling unprocessed chrome,” he said.

He said although Government was pushing for the beneficiation there were challenges such as power shortages and the insufficient capacity to smelt chrome and produce products.

“What we’ve been able to do in the last four years of our running the Indaba, is to attract people from as far afield as Canada and most Far East countries. We have been able to generate global interest in the Zimbabwe Mining Indaba and encourage participation in growing and developing this area of industry,” he added.

The Indaba, which is in its fourth year-running, continues to attract delegates because the country’s potential as an investment destination cannot be dismissed.

“Its full potential has not yet been tapped. Zimbabwe and the African continent present a myriad of mining business opportunities across numerous commodities. When you consider that approximately 60 percent of Zimbabwe’s land surface comprises rich varieties of mineral resources; Zimbabwe host second largest Platinum Group Metals resources in the world; 80 percent of the world’s resources of metallurgical chromite, some of the world’s largest coal deposits and Zimbabwe has the potential to produce approximately 25 percent of the world’s diamonds.”

It is envisaged that the upcoming event will not only feature high-profile international speakers but also others from Zimbabwe and the Sadc region with key discussion areas such as local mining policy, changes in legislation and regulations.

Issues to do with regional cooperation, infrastructure, integration and finance are expected to come under the spotlight. The indaba will be anchored on ensuring that regional key players begin a lasting process to start mining in Africa for the benefit of its future generations.