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RioZim says group operations in 2015 will continue to suffer due to the effects of the non-operating Empress Nickel Refinery (ENR) but the impact will be reduced through capacitating Renco Mine as well as Cam and Motor. Chief executive officer Noah Matimba in an interview after the group’s annual general meeting last Friday said operations in the year to date are also behind target due to the effect of ENR.

“ENR is a major operation, and the fact that it is currently under maintenance means we cannot meet our target. As a result our 2015 outlook is that we will continue to suffer from non-operating ENR,” he said. He said while the refinery is still under maintenance, the group is negotiating with third party material suppliers and is currently engaging both local and regional producers.

“We are looking for suppliers because what we need is nickel and copper matte. “However local producers cannot fill the refiner’s capacity of 17 000 tonnes per year as estimates show that local supply is at between 6 to 7 tonnes per annum.” Mr Matimba said the group is still negotiating with Botswana’s BCL for material as it is much closer.

In terms of gold operations, Mr Matimba said the group is targeting annual output of 680kg in 2015 up from 640kg last year. He said production at Renco has been consistently improving in comparison to previous years. However the mine requires more capital to replace aged equipment and do more exploration as well as development work.

“Some of the work has already started. When complete we will see more production with output at the mine reaching at least 80kgs per month,” he added. He said Cam and Motor mine is currently producing 50kgs per month with output expected to increase to 180kg per month if a new plant in installed.

“We are looking at a significant increase in gold production as a group. The new plant for Cam is currently being manufactured in China and components will start arriving before year end and installation will be complete by the end of Q1 2016,” he said. The group had entered into an interim arrangement with Falgold which has an idle plant.

“We have a pit and we saw an opportunity, so it’s an interim arrangement until Q2 2016 when we install our new plant. This has reduced effect of the non-available ENR,” he said. Cam and Motor Mine resumed operations in April this year. Meanwhile, in terms of the group’s debt, Chief finance officer Bheki Nkomo said the company is engaging local financiers with a view to restructure the short term debt to at least 5 year tenure. “We are locked up in a short term tenure debt at a high cost.

“We have engaged certain financial institutions that can help us restructure that debt and we are in the process of restructuring it so that it will be becomes a 5-year tenure and at a lower cost from the current 18% which we are paying now,” he said. Mr Nkomo said the group expect to reach the agreement by end of Q3. He said the debt currently at between $40 million and $45 million. – Wires