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Walter Mswazi in Mashava
At least US$15 million is required to purchase new mining equipment ahead of resumption of asbestos mining at King Mine in Mashava after successful de-watering of flooded shafts at the mothballed facility.

Acquisition of new modern mining equipment will pave way for full-scale ore extraction at the mine which started de-watering shafts after President Mnangagwa’s administration poured funds for the revival of Shabanie Mashava Mines (SMM).

Addressing stakeholders during a tour of the mine on Wednesday, SMM chief finance officer Mr Luckson Dziva said the company, which closed down at the height of the economic meltdown in 2004, will likely resume fibre extraction next year after replacing aged equipment.

An underground tour of mine shafts by the media on Wednesday revealed 39 spots that are ready for exploration of the mineral.

“The de-watering is almost complete as most of the workstations are no longer waterlogged.

“We are moving to the second phase of our resuscitation efforts, which is procurement of new equipment before commencement of real production,” said Mr Dziva.

“For the next phase, which is real production and is expected to commence not later than May 2020, we need at least US$15 million.

“This money is meant for the procurement of needed equipment and pumping out of the little water left,” he said.

Mr Dziva said the company was already exploring ways to start extracting manganese ore so as to raise more capital, with partners having already expressed readiness to partake in the project.

“We will have a joint venture with a private company, Queen Chrome Private Limited for chrome mining since there are plenty of deposits around the mine.

“We have realised that we can have a smelting plant here at the mine and modalities are in the pipeline, while the pre-feasibility study for manganese exploration from the present dumps was done.

“We also have nickel that can be extracted from the same. We, however, have a challenge of foreign currency and we hope this time the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) will address that,” he said.

Mine manager Mr Graciano Mapfumo said the company has so far rehired over 270 employees since the resuscitation efforts begun in 2017. He, however, said once the company is fully operational , there will be a complement of over 1 000 workers.

“We have the potential to create employment for all workers who were left jobless at the closure of the mine. So far we have rehired 276 workers for de-watering and other support services, but when we are at full throttle, we look forward to rehire 1 164 employees,” he said.

Speaking during a briefing at the mine, Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs Ezra Chadzamira advised the mine management that they should flight tenders in the media when they want to dispose assets to raise capital. He said the resuscitation of the mine was key to the province, especially in light of the devolution mantra.

“I advise you to make advertisement of tenders, a system that can help you dispose your assets easily. This can help you find takers for your assets quickly. The resumption of operations at the mine is crucial for our devolution programme as we want our people to get jobs and it also contributes to our provincial Gross Domestic Product(GDP). It also resonates well with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s 2030 vision — for the country to be an upper-middle income economy,” said Minister Chadzamira.

He, however, called for transparency and challenged the management to give a report on how the monies received were used.

“We expect you to be transparent and may you furnish my office on how you utilised the money that you were given. I understand Government gave you $20 million and you also realised $14 million from the sale of assets to Great Zimbabwe University,” he said.

Estimates indicate that revival of the closed mines could earn Zimbabwe up to $180 million in export revenue annually, given strong prices of asbestos on global markets.