Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe, Zimpapers Business Hub
Mining group, RioZim Limited, has reported a significant decline in diamond production at its RZM Murowa operation for the financial year ended 31 December 2024, attributing the drop to aging equipment and operational inefficiencies.
In a trading update, the diversified resources firm revealed that Murowa’s plant throughput plummeted by 47 percent compared to the previous year, largely due to reduced tonnage processed at the mine.
“The Associate’s plant throughput went down by 47 percent during the year, compared to the prior year, mainly due to low processed tonnes as a result of low availability of the mine’s heavy mobile equipment,” the company said.
RioZim noted that the current fleet had surpassed its economic life and frequent breakdowns had rendered operations unsustainable.
“The low plant performance resulted in the Mine decommissioning all its heavy mobile equipment during the year, as it became unsustainable to run due to persistent break downs,” the statement reads.
Faced with rising maintenance costs and dwindling productivity, RZM Murowa turned to hiring third-party equipment for its material handling operations.
However, the measure failed to fully cushion the impact on output.
Carat production declined by 13 percent to 359 000 carats, down from 414 000 carats in the comparative period.
The production shortfall also weighed heavily on the company’s financial performance, culminating in a substantial net loss.
“As a consequence of low production, RZM Murowa recorded a net loss for the period which corresponded to a share of loss from the Associate, of ZWG66 million in comparison to prior year which had a share of loss from the Associate of ZWG95 thousand,” said RioZim.
