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Conrad Mupesa Mashonaland West Bureau
THE re-start of operations at Mhangura Copper Mine and Alaska Smelting plant during this year, in both cases by reprocessing the millions tonnes of waste that accumulated at both points to extract the remaining copper, will bring hope to the two small towns that host these operations and revive their fortunes. The two reopenings will be employ over 350 people
Mhangura Copper Mine was the lifeblood of Mhangura Town Board and its closure created a near ghost town. Its planned re-opening and that of Alaska, has given hope to hundreds of people in the two towns.
Makonde Rural District Council (MRDC) chairman, Councillor Misheck Nyarubero said the reopening was going to change the lives of people in Mhangura.
Said Clr Nyarubero: “We are happy that through the able leadership of President Mnangagwa, the deal inked between ZMDC and Chinese investors has brought smiles to many faces. Mhangura has also been turned into a town board and the opening of the mine will pump blood into it.”
A Mhangura resident, Mr Witness , who runs a butchery, said he sees his fortunes changing with the opening of the mines.
Mhangura has been sustained by farming communities that surround it but, the ever-changing climate conditions have made this difficult. In Alaska, the mining community has been battling drug abuse menace and child pregnancies owing to low income and economic hardships.
The resuscitation of the Alaska Smelting Plant has since brought life into the compound located 15 km west of Chinhoyi town.
Speaking to The Herald recently, Mines and Mining Development Deputy Minister Dr Polite Kambamura said the closure of Mhangura Mine in around 2002 was due to the depletion of reserves at the mine.
ZMDC through a partnership with Eastern Asia, operating as Zhijiu Mining, is now processing 5 million tonnes of the old dump at a production capacity of 150 tonnes of concentrates a month. The first phase was commissioned in July 2022.
“The second phase is expected to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2024. The processing plant will produce 300 tonnes of concentrates a month when phases I and II are all running. Under the partnership, ZMDC has a shareholding of 35 percent, while Zhijiu has 65 percent . Zhijiu will invest US$10 million for the two phases. The project is expected to employ plus or minus 200 people at full capacity,” he said.
Project scope is the processing of about 2,6 million tonnes of slag from the previous Alaska Smelting plant,
“ZMDC is in partnership with Grand Sanyuan who holds 80 percent, ZMDC 10 percent and Rusununguko Holdings, another 10 percent.
The project requires smelter and concentrator installation to upgrade the dump and then smelt the concentrate. Initially the partner thought they would smelt the dump as is, but this failed. Metallurgical test works proved that the dump requires upgrading before smelting so US$12 million will be invested in this project,” he added.
The Alaska Smelter is now complete and hot commissioning was done in November 2022.
“Upon realizing the need for the concentrator in circuit, it was agreed that to first construct a concentrator. The concentrator equipment is now on site, and construction is in progress.”
The concentrator will be commissioned by end of first quarter this year and the whole project should start producing crude copper of 80 to 90 percent copper in May.
Alaska project will employ at least 150 employees at full capacity.
Online Reporter