adminTinashe Makichi Harare Bureau
Former Anglo American Plc ferrochrome producer, Zimbabwe Alloys has started the processing of dumps with the help of a Chinese mining company, Jinan which is providing funding and technical assistance on the new venture.ZimAlloys managing director Munyaradzi Dube told our Harare Bureau that dump processing has started and was progressing well.
“The company is realising encouraging results in dump processing and work has already started which will see the company processing the estimated four million tonnes of ore.
“Jinan is based near to our operations in Gweru and they are processing from the other side of the dump while ZimAlloys is doing on the other side,” said Dube.
“Our aim now is for Jinan to process even the side that we’ve been working on but they cited financial challenges but going forward they promised to work on our side but on a later date.”
ZimAlloys has currently pinned its revival hopes on processing dumps while talks are at an advanced stage with some potential investors willing to inject fresh capital into the business.
ZimAlloys, which was sold to the Farai Rwodzi-led Benscore consortium for the equivalent of $10 million in 2005, was placed under final judicial management due to poor performance attributed to the closure of its four furnaces, poor global metal prices and escalating costs.
These partnerships are set to ease the company’s cash woes, with one of the partnerships expected to realise about $2.3 million.
The dump processing project is expected to be complete in the next four years.
ZimAlloys ceased operations in 2008 and was placed under final judicial management on November 27 last year after it was placed under provisional judicial management on July 24 the same year.
The company is currently focusing on strategies to build its capacity to beneficiate rather than export chrome ore in line with the government policy.
Online Reporter