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Conrad Mupesa Mashonaland West Bureau
Officials at the newly established explosives firm, Jiang Shan Civil Explosives, about 14 kilometres west of Chinhoyi town, have said they are ready for production that will meet the mining industry’s demands for explosives.
The company officially started operations last month with a factory production capacity standing at 1 000 tonnes of explosives per month.
It goes on full-throttle starting next month, employing close to 100 people.
Speaking yesterday during a tour of the factory by Mashonaland West Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Mary Mliswa-Chikoka, to appreciate the new investment in the province, the company’s general manager, Mr Vengai Mhlanga said they were yet to reach their full production capacity.
“We haven’t started doing much because explosives are regulated and should be stored in magazines and currently, our magazines are full,” he said.
“We are waiting for the market to come and draw from the magazines so that space is created, while at the same time we manufacture more.”
Mr Mhlanga said there was an uneven playfield in the sector in which those importing finished explosives were charging lower prices.
He said the factory, whose main manufacturing ingredients include ammonium nitrate (99-percent) will be imported, was set up in the area as a way of servicing the province which has one of the highest number of artisanal and small scale miners.
Minister Mliswa-Chikoka said the investment was a game-changer to the area and the province at large.
Online Reporter