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Minister Chidhakwa

Conrad Mwanawashe Business Reporter— 
Government and its Russian partners, will inject more than $1,6 billion towards platinum mining through a joint venture, a senior minister has revealed. The partners are looking at putting up concentrators and a smelter at Ruschrome Darwendale, The first phase will see the consortium injecting between $400 million and $500 million for the development of the mine and the setting up of concentrators. The next phase will include the construction of a PGM smelter.

Mining on the concession is expected to commence early next year and agreements with the members of the consortium will be signed next month.

Mines and Mineral Development Minister Walter Chidhakwa in an interview said the consortium involving Russian firms Rostec and an investment bank, Vneshekonombank is pressing ahead with preparatory work at the concession.

Minister Chidhakwa and Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa were in Russia last week to meet the members of the consortium.

The Russians are part of a consortium that snapped up a 40 percent stake in Ruschrome Mining, a Russian-African joint venture licensed to mine the Darwendale platinum fields.

The fields hold 19 tonnes in proven reserves and 775 total tonnes of metals including palladium, gold, nickel and copper.
“I am confident that work on the Darwendale Concession will be increased particularly after establishing the reserve on the entire concession,” said Minister Chidhakwa.

“They have also started building the mine itself, houses at the mine, building office blocks and other basic infrastructure including roads. We are also confident that they will also start opening the pit because they will have about 2-3 years of open cast mining,” he said.

Minister Chidhakwa said discussions for the determination of the base metal and precious metal refinery are still ongoing.
“The base metal and precious metal refinery is something that we are still in the process of finalising. But the mining aspect including the smelter is what we have finalised and in September we will be signing the agreements,” said Minister Chidhakwa.

Ruschrome is partly owned by the Zimbabwean Government and the Centre of Business Co-operation with Foreign Countries, an association of machinery and defence firms that will retain a 10 percent stake in the project.

Earlier on Minister Chidhakwa told the Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy that Government is sourcing funds for the setting up of a laboratory for testing of PGM concentrates.

“We are pushing for a platinum refinery and for our own laboratory to do tests for platinum group metals.”
“Everywhere I am going, I am asking for resources to set up our own laboratory. The Angolans have the same problem in different other minerals. We must do things that ensure that we are able to test our resources,” said Minister Chidhakwa.

“But more importantly we must not allow concentrates to go out of the country. We must move to the smelter, to the PGM base metal refinery where we take out the cobalt, copper and nickel and we must move to the precious metal refinery which separates 99,99 platinum, palladium, oridium and many others,” he said.

The Mines and Mining Development Ministry will soon approach Parliament to amend the Minerals Marketing Corporation Act to facilitate the absorption of the MMCZ into the recently formed Mining Promotion Company.

“The money that is coming from the miners as levy, to me I think, should best be put into exploration.
“We pick about $20-$25 million which we say we use for marketing and there’s not much marketing because the companies do their own marketing,” said Minister Chidhakwa. The MPC has a separate board of directors and administrative structure.