admin
Essar, which bought a 54 percent stake in Zisco, wants to build a slurry pipeline from Zimbabwe to Mozambique and an iron ore terminal with a capacity of 20 million tonnes per year at Beira when it resumes operations at the dormant Zisco Steel mine.
Mines and Mining Development Deputy Minister Gift Chimanikire said the move was in line with Government policy to promote value addition.
“We will not allow that. It is not Government policy because we want value addition,” he said.
“Once you export raw iron ore you are exporting jobs. We want Zisco to become the biggest steel maker in the world.”
Deputy Minister Chimanikire said the Government would also be moving to enforce value addition of other minerals.
“We are digging in on that one that is why we have even instructed Zimplats to build a smelter. We are also zeroing in on diamonds because we are losing out,” he said.
Zimbabwe holds an estimated 39 billion tonnes of iron ore and a sizeable chunk of this is held by the Redcliff based mine.
While Essar’s plans would enable it to feed its other global steel operations, analysts contend that Zimbabwe stood to lose out billions of iron ore and substantial revenue through exports.
The Indian firm intends to invest over $4 billion over the next four years at Zisco (now New Zim Steel) and increasing annual steel output to 2,5 million tonnes.
Essar produces about nine million tonnes of steel annually in its global steel operations.
ZiscoSteel, once the biggest integrated steel works in Africa north of the Limpopo, folded operations in 2008 after experiencing serious viability problems.
Global steel demand is expected to register a 5,4 percent increase this year to around 1,5 billion tonnes from 1,3 billion tonnes last year.
The surge will result from continued growth in demand from India, China the US and Africa. — New Ziana.
Online Reporter