Online Reporter
Judith Phiri [email protected]
ENERGY and Power Development Minister July Moyo has said Zimbabwe’s local mineral beneficiation is central to the country’s strategy for scaling up domestic renewable energy and attracting green investments.
Responding to the media during a Press Meet on the sidelines of the 8th Meeting of the ISA Regional Committee for the Africa Region in Victoria Falls on Wednesday, the Minister said takeaways from Mine Entra 2026 highlighted the drive to push for local mineral beneficiation.
“In Zimbabwe, we have an annual Mine Entra and we just got a report about the participation, which was larger than last year. Almost everyone in the region came for that premier showcase.
“There were seminars which were being held on mineral beneficiation, and especially the use of critical minerals that were addressed by our Vice-President and all others from the region on what we do about the beneficiation of our minerals,” he said.
He said mineral beneficiation was taking centre stage and the country had set policies that made it clear that the country could not export minerals such as platinum, calling for them to be beneficiated locally.
Minister Moyo said platinum mines in areas like Ngezi, a prominent mining and recreational area located in the Mhondoro-Ngezi District, had been engaged in having not only thermal power plants, but solar power plants as well, to drive mineral beneficiation.
“This is with a view to saying, when we trade in these environmental, social and governance issues, they can actually maximise the marketing of what we are producing in our own countries.
“The steel industry is also pushing the same thing. They are producing thermal power and solar power at the same time in order to have this ESG marketing strategy,” he added.
He said on ferrochrome, all the 14 ferrochrome plants this year were combining thermal power with solarisation.
The Minister said, in terms of beneficiation, people were looking at marketing and fulfilling the Paris protocols that most of the countries had entered into.
“So, yes, there must be a lot of sharing that we must continue to do, and at different stages. The African continent has people who are advanced in one area, and others are advanced in another area, and we must continue to share.
“With the support and research which we think is going to take place with what we are signing with the ISA, we think that we can move the technology value chain also, while we are moving the beneficiation of our minerals,” he said.
The Government, under the leadership of President Mnangagwa, is leading a determined national drive to move the economy beyond the extraction and export of mineral resources that are not beneficiated.
With the country accelerating its mineral beneficiation policy by banning unprocessed mineral exports and requiring local value addition for 14 critical minerals.
Blessing Chizhande