adminMichael Magoronga Midlands Correspondent
The revival of the Ziscosteel Coke plant is set to revive Zimchem Refineries, which had been facing production challenges due to non-availability of coke, its major raw material. ZimCoke took over the coke plant in a $133 million deal that will see the plant produce more than half a million tonnes of coke per year.
Zimchem’s major coke tar supplier Hwange Coal Gasification Company (HCGC) had turned its back on the company owing to a debt of $1,2 million preferring to supply the raw material to South Africa.
But the revival of the coke plant under ZimCoke came as a boost to the company as it is expected to boost Zimchem’s production by 70 percent.
In his speech during the ground-breaking ceremony last week, ZimCoke chief executive Mr Bill More highlighted that ZimCoke will be the major coke supplier to Zimchem.
“Zimcoke has also taken a share in Zimchem and will be its biggest supplier of coke. The by-products from Zimcoke will give Zimchem a new lease of life,” said Mr More.
He said coke was an unsung hero of so many processes in industry saying besides burning and providing heat, it plays a big role in the industry.
Most of the by-products, said Mr More, will be taken to Zimchem where they will be further refined to make a multiplicity of products like tar and creosote.
Zimchem operations officer Mr Tendai Shoko said the deal is expected to boost production at the company by more than 70 percent.
“It is a good deal that will see our production improving significantly. At the moment however, we are still waiting for the deal to come to fruition,” he said.
Mr Shoko said HCGC had made it almost impossible for production to continue due to unrealistic demands.
“The company seem to have broken into the regional market which supplies them with forex and had turned their back on us. But the coming in of Zimcoke is obviously expected to be a major boost,” he said. Zimchem uses coke for the production of coke tar, creosote and other chemicals.
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