Work begins on $3 billion Darwendale platinum project

Lloyd Gumbo Harare Bureau
WORK on the multi-billion-dollar platinum project at Darwendale, signed by the government and Russians late last year, has started in earnest with various sectors of the economy expected to benefit immensely from the development.Zimbabwean firm, Pen East Investments and Russia’s JCS Afronet commissioned the $3 billion platinum mining project, the biggest joint venture deal government has ever entered with a foreign investor since independence.

The joint-venture, Great Dyke Investments (GDI), is expected to produce at least one million ounces of platinum annually.

GDI board chairperson, Hesphina Rukato, said it was all systems go at the project that was expected to create not less than 15,000 jobs in the next decade when the firm starts operating at full throttle.

“In accordance with the long-term project implementation strategy adopted by the Board of Directors of Great Dyke Investments (Private) Limited, large scale exploration works of the Darwendale deposit started on January 5, 2015,” she said.

“The total scope of drilling planned for 2015-2016 exceeds 300,000 running metres, thus being one of the biggest exploration ventures in Zimbabwe. This scope of work is designed to prove the deposit resources in indicated category for longer than a 20-year mining period.”

She said a consortium of Zimbabwean companies -Tandamanzi and SMC were taking part in the implementation of the drilling programme.

“The Darwendale deposit resources have been estimated at 40 million ounces of PGMs (Platinum Group Metals). It’s part of the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe and is ranked among the world’s biggest PGMs deposits. The project development strategy will see a phased construction of a complex for mining and concentration of 10 million tonnes of ore per annum, and a smelter to enable production of up to 800,000 ounces (25 tonnes) of PGMs in the form of converter matter as final product,” said Rukato.

She expressed gratitude to stakeholders who have facilitated successful implementation of the project according to the plan.

Russians have already secured funding for the project whose investment is expected to reach at least $4, 2 billion over the next decade.

The integrated project will also see GDI set up a refinery to promote value addition in line with Zim-Asset.

The project will be implemented in three phases with the first one running from 2014 to 2017, where exploration and infrastructure establishment as well as construction and commissioning of the first stage of facilities for mining would be carried out.

During the second phase (2018-2022) construction and commissioning of two underground mines will take place while the last phase (2022-2024) will see construction of a second processing plant and additional mines.

Zimbabwe also signed several mega-deals with China with Harare and Beijing putting pen to paper during President Mugabe’s state visit to the Asian country last year.  Zimbabwean and Chinese delegations have since exchanged several visits.

A high-powered Chinese delegation led by Deputy Premier Yang Jiech is expected in the country to discuss the implementation of the mega deals.