Online Reporter
Judith Phiri [email protected]
MINING industry players have said investment in mechanisation is critical for the sector’s growth, boosting efficiency, lowering operating costs and improving safety for workers.
The country’s mining remains the anchor of the economy, contributing over 60 percent of national export earnings and approximately over 25 percent directly to the national gross domestic product (GDP).
In today’s era, modern machines are allowing companies to extract minerals faster and with less waste. While, new automated drills, smart haul trucks and high-efficiency sorting tools use advanced technology to do this work safely.
In an interview, Mine Vacuuming Services (Private) Limited t/a Waterwitch Mining finance director, Engineer Gilbert Kaguru said miming continues to grow through investment in mechanisation.
“One of the major reasons what we have come to learn as players in the mining sector is that as you go deeper in your shafts, the nature of your gold changes.
“So, currently, there is a lot of free gold in Zimbabwe, which is gold basically close to the surface, but as you go deeper, you now have gold based on sulphides. The treatment of that gold and the recovery is quite different from free gold, which is why mechanisation becomes essential,” he said.
“From my own deduction, in the next 10 years or so, there will be more growth of mining in Zimbabwe, last year we did 46.7 tons of gold as a country. It shows that there is a lot of activity, of which 70 percent comes from artisanal miners in production.”
He said for mining to be sustainable, where there will be less free gold to mine, there will be a need to go deeper with mechanisation playing a key role.
Eng Kaguru called for mining sector players to also focus on the kind of equipment they use to access deeper minerals in their shafts.
“We feel that every miner should consider mechanisation so that it is sustainable and the targets as well as the aspirations of the country of reaching US$12 billion mining industry can be achieved,” he added.
He said an industry they were also collaborating with academia to bridge the gap between theoretical classroom learning and field operations.
Eng Kaguru said they have a relationship with the Zimbabwe School of Mines (ZSM), where students come for training at their mine on a regular basis.
“So, that partnership is growing strongly. We also have mining concessions which are next door to the one of SZM. We provide technical support to each other on the mining side of things.”
On the Government policy for mining sector growth, he emphasized that growth was only going to be sustainable with continued investments in mechanisation.
Eng Kaguru said on local value addition and beneficiation of minerals, it was essential to transform raw material exports into finished products, creating local jobs, retaining revenue and reducing reliance on global commodity price volatility.
“It is also one of the most important reasons for sustainability for the economy. It creates value for the economy and of the 46.7 tons delivered last year, some of the gold is sold without being further processed.
“Whereas it is not a sophisticated minerals to process locally, but the investments that have been done, for example, in the lithium industry, and the policies made in that direction, will also be helpful in terms of gold processing,” he said.
