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GOVERNMENT intends to establish a tantalite buying centre modelled along the same lines as Fidelity Printers and Refiners, Mines and Mining Development Minister Walter Chidhakwa. Tantalite is a black mineral found in granite rocks and mostly used in the electronics industry.
It is used for the manufacturing of electronic capacitors for cellphones and laptop computer chips, among others. “We need it (marketing of the tantalite) to be democratic as gold,” said Minister Chidhakwa while briefing the 15th Zanu-PF Annual People’s Conference last Friday.
Fidelity Printers and Refiners is a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and solely responsible for buying gold from small and large scale miners. Minister Chidhakwa said tantalite, alongside chrome and gold were strategic to the country’s economic development.
As such, orderly marketing of the mineral would ensure the country fully maximises income from the mineral. According to the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe, tantalite could provide opportunities for value addition and beneficiation in light of growing information and communication technology industry.
Due to worldwide demand, prices for tantalite occasionally soar to hundreds of dollars per kilogramme.
Zimbabwe has tantalite deposits in Seke communal lands, Marondera, Mberengwa, Murehwa, Mutoko, Masvingo, and Buhera. The mineral is often smuggled to the DRC for sale.
Although Zimbabwe and the DRC are currently the leading producers of the mineral on the continent, tantalite has also been discovered in Egypt, Namibia, Madagascar and Rwanda.
It is also found in northern Europe and some parts of the United States and Australia, which produced about 75 percent of the mineral as of 2006. Last month, Zimbabwe sealed two tantalite and chrome off-take deals with a Chinese firm running into millions of dollars. The deal is worth about $28 million, according to officials.
The revival of Kamativi Mines under a $102 million joint venture arrangement between the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation and China Beijing Pinchang would result in extraction of tin, lithium, tantalite, beryl, copper and beryllium.
Online Reporter