New dawn for mining industry

Kudzanai Gerede
Good times are set to roll for the country’s mining industry with Government earmarked to embark on an exploration exercise meant to boost its known mineral reserves and diversity of mineral composition by engaging a Japanese exploration company that will provide all technical assistance and also build capacity of local geologists, The Manica Post Business has learnt.

The exercise, an offshoot of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between Government of Zimbabwe and Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) last September in Harare, is expected to empower the Geological Survey of Zimbabwe in assessing the exact scope of mineral endowment in the country through modern methods of exploration using satellite images from space (remote sensing).

This will also see the country benefiting from JOGMEC’s Geologic Remote Training Centre, which is located in Botswana.

JOGMEC is mandated to do the exploration activities across the globe on behalf of Japanese mining companies in strategic minerals which are essential to sustain the huge Japanese manufacturing industries and this cooperation with Zimbabwe is expected to yield huge Japanese investment in the country’s extractive sector.

Officiating at the conference on Sustainable Development of Mineral Resources for the Mining Sector of Zimbabwe, co-organised by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development and JOGMEC in Harare this past week, Japanese Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Yoshi Hiraishi reiterated the cooperation with JOGMEC, a seasoned company on the African continent, as a positive step towards the growth of the country’s mining sector.

“Based on this MOU the Geologic Remote Training Centre of JOGMEC in Botswana can now transfer state-of-the-art GIS techniques and remote sensing know-how to Zimbabwean geologists working for the Geological Survey Department.

Almost all countries in the entire SADC region are benefiting from the activities of this centre,”

“In the mining history of Japan, JOGMEC has been playing and continues to play an active role in supporting Japanese companies’ exploration and development in the mining sector.

“It works as an advisor for Japanese mining companies with a view of securing their safe and stable activities in the mining sector abroad,” said Ambassador Hiraishi.

The partnership comes at a time when Zimbabwe is in dire need of modern advanced techniques and equipment in exploration activities as it seeks to diversify its mineral output and growth in production.

Early this year, the Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines released the State of the Mining Industry Report 2015, which highlighted a huge gap in mineral exploration in the country which presented huge mining and exploration opportunities.

Zimbabwe is believed to be harbouring over 60 types of precious metals beneath its surface, which were identified prior to independence with antiquated technology and currently five of these namely gold (40 percent), platinum (21 percent), palladium (11 percent), diamond (11 percent) and nickel (8) make over 90 percent of total mineral value output.

“Zimbabwe’s mining sector is heavily under explored and just 60 percent of the country has been mapped, leaving huge gaps of possible mineral reserves across the country which needs serious investors to get into,” said Mabasa Temba Hawadi, Director, Geological Survey in the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development.

“Zimbabwe has over 100 kimberlite pipes dotted across the country mainly in the eastern and south eastern parts of the country but to date, less than five have been exploited, which are the ones in Chimanimani and Chiadzwa,” he added.

The country’s extractive sector has seen a marginal decline in growth in recent years and analyst have cited not only the depressed international commodity prices as the chief culprit but the failure by the country to diversify its mineral export composition in order to avert volatile prices as some minerals may gain stability whilst others are weakening.

Apart from this Japanese partnership, the country’s mining sector has attracted attention world over with Chinese investment expected to trickle following mega deals which were signed late last year during the official state visit into the country by the Chinese President and a business delegation.

Recently, the Chinese allayed speculation that they were abandoning the deals by issuing a statement that the projects were still proceeding as they were gearing up to kick start business in the country.