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Zimplats says it has spent at least $448 million of the project budget on Phase 2 of expanding its Ngezi Mine in the Midlands province as at March 31 this year.

Initiated in 2010, the expansion project entails development of a 30 000 mega litre dam, a new underground mine, an additional concentrator as well as other related infrastructure. Zimplats, a subsidiary of South African firm Impala Platinum, said progress had also been registered on the refurbishment of its Selous metallurgical complex and base metal refinery.

Re-development of the Bimha Mine, closed in 2014 following an underground collapse, remained on schedule to reach full production in April 2018.

“The implementation of the Ngezi Phase 2 expansion project is progressing well and a total of US$448 million of the project budget had been spent as at March 31 2016,” Zimplats said in an update.

“A total of US$13,6 million has been spent on the refurbishment of the Selous Metallurgical Complex base metal refinery project and US$9,5 million was committed as at 31 March 2016.”

The base metal refinery is being refurbished in line with a government push for local beneficiation and value addition.

Zimplats however said some capital projects that were planned to be implemented in the nine months to 31 March this year were deferred to future periods due to cash constraints arising from decline in prices of soft metal on the world market.

One of the deferred projects include the base metal refinery, which was expected to be commissioned this July, but has been delayed as the drop international metal prices hit on Zimplat’s ability to fund the programme.

“The project has been deferred as a result of cash constraints and the commissioning will now depend on the availability of cash,” Zimplats chief executive Alex Mhembere told a media and analysts briefing early this year.

Zimbabwe has the second largest known deposits of platinum in the world after neighbouring South Africa.

There are three mines extracting the mineral in the country namely, Zimplats, Mimosa and Unki.

Platinum accounts for about 36 percent of the country’s total mineral production. – New Ziana.