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Walter Mswazie Masvingo Correspondent
Unity Mining Quarry Syndicate, one of the leading quarry mining companies in Masvingo, has started formal production of aggregate stones and is targeting the long-awaited Beitbridge-Harare Highway dualisation project expected to commence in July.

A recent visit to the quarry company, located 17 km along Masvingo-Bulawayo Road revealed that production is now at full throttle.

The company’s operations manager Mr Noel Majida said formal production started at the beginning of March, a year after the installation of the machine at a cost of at least US$1 million.

“We did our test run in January before we started normal production in March. While we have started selling our products, we are targeting the Beitbridge-Chirundu Highway dualisation project,” said Mr Majida

He said the syndicate had a capacity of producing 100 tonnes of aggregate stones, quarry and quarry dust simultaneously per day.

“We have already started trading and currently adequately supplying our market.

“We crush at least 100 tonnes of quarry that include aggregated stones and quarry dust for brick and pre-cast wall block-making per shift of eight hours a day. We have 10 employees at the moment, three of them technicians, one a qualified boiler maker, electrician and, fit and turner,” he said.

He said the company had a capacity utilisation of 25 percent , but could increase up to 75 percent or beyond given increased demand.

He said the plant was producing 20mm aggregates stones in line with the sieve and strength requirements in ZWS 233:1997 as prescribed by the Standard Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ).

Company director Mr Benjamin Mazarire said the company’s operation had already been certified by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) which had issued an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) certificate.

“The operations here are above board, as we have been issued an EIA certificate by EMA.

“We are adding value to the existing quarry companies and our existence would regulate prices since there will be competition,” said Mr Mazarire.

The plant comprises a jaw crusher which accepts big stones for onward transmission to the vibrating feeder.

The vibrating feeder ensures that the correct size gets ahead of the roller screen which also monitors the stones into a cone-shaped crusher.

Another vibrating screen lies ahead for the grading of stones into quarry dust for brick and pre-cast wall making.

The size for such stones is 12mm and mainly used for road construction while others are 19mm and used for concrete.

The plant also produces some over size stones used for bridge and house construction.