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Tinashe Makichi Business Reporter —
Government has short-listed investors for its wholly owned Kwekwe refractory plant after receiving 19 bidders for the project, Mines and Mining Development Permanent Secretary Prof Francis Gudyanga said.

The refractory plant ceased operations in 2000 but Government has since transferred ownership of the assets to Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe on condition that the corporation would pay all the liabilities that the roasting plant had.

“Nineteen investors made submissions on the Kwekwe roasting plant sometime last year and we have since short-listed them.

“There had been a delay on the process because we then went into the festive holiday but I can confirm that there has been progress.

“We are now at the final stage of securing a partner for the project and we are upbeat that we are going to secure the right partner,” said Prof Gudyanga in a telephone interview yesterday.

There have been viability concerns surrounding the resuscitation of the plant and a lot of investors have been unwilling to commit their funds on the project.

However following the takeover of the plant by Government, investors have since started showing commitment on injecting fresh capital.

Government through Ministry of Mines and Mining Development last year assumed responsibility of resuscitating Kwekwe refractory gold roasting plant amid expectations it would earn $140 million from extracting gold trapped in dumps at the plant.

The refractory plant on its own is a rich mine and there is hope that if the dumps are processed about $140 million will be realised.

The roasting plant was established in 1937 by the then Government of Rhodesia to assist small and medium scale miners around Kwekwe in the processing of dumps or refractory gold ore.

These dumps have an estimated 350 000 metric tonnes of ore and according to Peacocke and Simpsons Mineral Processors, they contain 97 220 ounces of gold worth $140 million at current prices.