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Nelson Gahadza Business Reporter

Diamond production at RZM Murowa increased by 24 percent during the third quarter of 2022 driven by the 500 tonnes per hour (tph) Project Crown Jewel processing plant, which became operational at the beginning of the quarter.

 RZM Murowa, an associate company of RioZim Limited in 2020 embarked on the 500tph greenfield project, which allows the company to process all of its ore sources on-site, including low-grade ore and re-crush stockpiles.

 The project is part of the group’s phased plans to invest over US$450 million into the expansion of its diamond operations with the construction of the underground mine expected to cost US$400 million.

 In a trading update RioZim said the 500 tph kimberlite diamond processing plant at RZM Murowa and other group initiatives were earmarked to drive the group to profitability.

 “The Associate continued to process pre-mined low-grade ores from its extensive stockpiles albeit at increased volumes from the newly commissioned high volume 500tph plant,” the company said.

 As part of its Vision 2030 plan, The Government of Zimbabwe intends to increase mineral exports to $12 billion by 2023, with gold projected to account for $4 billion, platinum with $3 billion and chrome, iron steel, diamonds and coal each contributing $1 billion, while Lithium and other minerals are expected to contribute $2 billion.

 Globally, RZM Murowa mine is ranked one of Zimbabwe’s largest exporters and generators of foreign income. The firm produced 568 222 carats in 2020 and intends to increase production to more than 1 million carats per year by 2025.

 RioZim said it was also focused on ramping up production to optimal levels at its other key projects, including the BIOX plant project at Cam & Motor mine.

 The company said it continues to engage the authorities in various capacities for an upward review of the foreign currency retention on export proceeds from the current 60 percent as this has proven to be inadequate considering the group’s foreign currency requirements.

 It noted that power supply challenges also remained a key risk to the group’s operations and even though the company has put in place diesel generators to lessen production stoppages, the group remains reliant on the power utility for consistent power supply to run optimally.

 “Engagements with the power utility are ongoing on the rehabilitation of the unreliable power infrastructure mainly at Renco mine.”

 The group said the Dalny Mine was placed under full care and maintenance due to inadequate foreign currency as it requires a huge capital investment to resuscitate underground operations.

 However, in terms of production performance in other group operations, Cam & Motor Mine focused on stabilising and optimising production at its recently commissioned Biological Oxidation (BIOX) plant post-commissioning in April 2022.

 RioZim said production increased at a steady rate throughout the period and closed the quarter with an 83 percent growth from the prior year comparative period.

“The mine operated its BIOX plant throughout the quarter and despite encountering some normal teething challenges, production steadily increased towards the optimal level. However, production at Cam & Motor was adversely affected by power outages,” said the company.

 During the quarter under review, Dalny Mine was placed under care and maintenance due to lack of open pit ore sources with consistent grades as the current pits are showing low playability.

 “In order to sustain care and maintenance costs, the mine embarked on small scale mining activities as the available open pit resources are uneconomic to mine using traditional large scale mining methods.”

 At Renco Mine production for the quarter declined by 15 percent compared to the third quarter of 2021 mainly attributed to increased power supply challenges.

 RioZim said the mine has invested in additional generators to increase coverage of backup power in an effort to minimize production disruptions.

 The group’s base metals business, the Empress Nickel Refinery (ENR) remained under care and maintenance throughout the quarter.