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Business Reporter
A newly established gold stamp mill in Shangani plans to produce up to 30 kilogrammes of gold over the next months, the director, Mr Thompson Mpala, has said. In an interview after a tour of the facility on Tuesday, he said output of between 20 and 30 kg would enable the company to sustain itself and grow.
He said they expected to start making profits after two to three years.
The stamp mill, situated near Shangani Business Centre along the Bulawayo-Harare highway, is a partnership between indigenous businesspeople and Israeli investors. The mill started operating in February.
Mr Mpala said they were receiving gold ore from between 50 and 100 small-scale miners from the Shangani area. Gold was recently discovered in the area resulting in scores of prospectors moving in to establish mining claims.
Mr Mpala said the plant was crushing 40 tonnes of ore a day. He said under their business model, miners brought ore to the mill for crushing where free gold is captured in a concentrator.
The dump is then taken to a processing plant in Bulawayo where further gold is recovered.
Mr Mpala said they decided to make the investment in the gold sector despite the depressed gold prices on the international market because of their commitment to help the community.
He said he grew up in Shangani and wanted to help the local community.
Gold prices have been falling since the beginning of the year, resulting in major gold producers in the country crafting measures to cut costs.
The price of gold has fallen from about $1 700 an ounce in January to about $1 300 this month.
Mr Mpala said the depressed gold prices at times meant that miners failed to pay for milling services as little or no gold is sometimes recovered from their ore.
“(Gold) prices have gone down but expenses are going up. It’s affecting us but we can’t stop,” he said.
Mr Mpala said the milling plant also empowered local industry as the stamp mill was manufactured by a Bulawayo company. The stamp mill also created 24 jobs to mostly local people, he said.
The Israeli partners arrived in the country on Tuesday to assess progress on their investments. The Israelis have said they wanted to explore more business opportunities in the country and were prepared to invest up to $100 million in various economic sectors, including mining and energy.
Online Reporter