eBusiness Weekly
Prosper Ndlovu in Bulawayo
Zimbabwe has realised $1.6 billion from cumulative mining exports spurred by a 25 percent increase in production as at mid-September 2017 compared to the same period last year.
Mines and Mining Development Minister Walter Chidhakwa said this in Bulawayo yesterday while addressing delegates attending the alternative mining indaba.
“As at 15 September 2017 cumulative mineral exports from January 2017 stood at $1.692 billion compared to $1.352 billion during same period last year. This represents an approximately 25.1 percent increase,” he said. Minister Chidhakwa said the mining sector was on a solid footing evidenced by positive growth in major minerals except diamonds.
He revealed that cumulative gold exports, as at 15 September 2017, stood at 14,731 tonnes valued at $631.84 million compared to 14,275 tonnes valued at $575.978 million during the same period in 2016. This represents an increase of 3.2 percent and 9, 7 percent in volume and value terms respectively. Higher production figures would have been realised were it not for the incessant rains, which affected production in the first quarter of this year.
“Performance of other minerals have been on positive trend except diamonds which recorded negative variance compared to 2016,” said the minister.
He said so far up to mid-September platinum has generated $617 million compared to $540 million, diamonds $63,7 million compared to $89.7 million, gold $631 million compared to $575 million, ferrochrome $224 million compared to $62 million last year and raw chrome $69 million compared to 7.8 million last year.
Other commodities such as nickel, cobalt and so forth $85 million compared to 75.6 million and that is what gives us the total we gave,” said Minister Chidhakwa. The Minister said platinum has suffered problems of price. He said Five years ago the price of platinum almost rose almost $2000 per ounce and it came down progressively to around $920 per ounce.
He, however, said that the three companies mining platinum — Mimosa, Unki and Zimplats — have increased their production despite the setback at Zimplats who suffered a collapse of the mine and we had to cordon off the collapsed part. But fortunately this happened without any casualties despite the financial setback.
“It is that increase in volume production that is contributing to the increase so far by 14 percent,” he said.
Minister Chidhakwa said Government would forge ahead with the platinum refinery policy in line with the Zim-Asset value addition and beneficiation thrust. At the moment all platinum output leaves the country in semi-processed form as a concentrate..
