Mining transforming Buhera’s economic fortunes

22 Jul, 2022 - 00:07 0 Views
Mining transforming Buhera’s economic fortunes Former Minister of State in the Office of the President and Cabinet, who is in charge of monitoring the implementation of Special Agricultural and Related Programmes, Honourable David Marapira (left) listens attentively as Dorowa Minerals general manager, Mr Charles Mangadze (centre) takes officials through the operations of the mine’s magnetite plant during the minister’s tour of the mine recently — Picture: Tinai Nyadzayo

The ManicaPost

 

Samuel Kadungure
Senior Reporter

BUHERA has been the tail-ender when it comes to Manicaland’s economic activities, but the advent of mining of vast mineral resources in the district offers bright prospects for the future.

With agriculture subdued due to extreme vagaries of weather, Buhera is now looking up to mining to grow its gross domestic product (GDP).

The district is endowed with a diverse mineral resource-base that includes lithium, phosphate, tantalite, vermiculite, gold and diamonds.

After decades of hunger and survival on food hand-outs, which at one point saw 35 charitable organisations camping in the district to distribute food-aid, the significance and scope of mining now offers hope on the social and economic welfare of the citizenry, as well as its development into a more-advanced and industrialised district.

Done properly, mining can promote sustainable development.

The latest kid on the block is a lithium mining project being spearheaded by Max Mind Zimbabwe Private Limited which has the capacity to produce 3 000 tonnes of lithium concentrate per day, which translates to 1 095 000 tonnes per year with a raw export value of US$200m.

In view of the importance of lithium to the future energy-battery, the mineral, now dubbed the “white oil”, is important as it is mainly used for the production of lithium batteries and ICT products.

It is an essential component in the production of high-tech equipment and electric vehicle batteries.

Apart from electric vehicles, another key reason for the rising usage of lithium-ion batteries is the growth in renewable energy production. Lithium-ion batteries are now used in everything, from hand held devices to grid storage.

Max Mind Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd project manager, Mr Alfas Mugova said at least US$250m will be required to set up the value addition and beneficiation plant that will lead to battery manufacturing in the district.

The project forecasts to recruit 300 workers at full production.

 

The bulk of the non-skilled workforce will come from the vicinity of the project.

“There will also be transfer of skills from expatriates to local employees through training and coaching of new technologies and equipment. Improvement of local infrastructure will also be harnessed through the upgrading of roads, sinking of boreholes to improve provision of water for rural people and animals, as well as social amenities like clinics that will benefit the local community as the current nearest one is 7km away. There are also plans to build and help schools when the mine is operational.

“Other benefits of the project include foreign currency generation through foreign direct investment and 100 percent export sales of mineral concentrate as well as benefits to downstream businesses through transport provision and local retail. There will also be revenue generation for Government through taxes and loyalties,” he said.

The mining company’s vision is built around growing its lithium business in sync with pronouncements by Government to add value to all local mineral resources.

It aspires to be the first hard-rock large-scale lithium mining company in Zimbabwe, producing spodumene concentrate.

“Further exploration and generation of more resource will enable Max Mind to support Government’s value addition strategy. The production of spodumene concentrate is in itself a value addition process as it upgrades the product from a naturally occurring resource to a more valuable product.

“We plan to go further in the value addition chain by building a facility to upgrade spodumene concentrate into battery grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide. This facility will be the first of its kind in Zimbabwe and Africa. The envisaged investment for this development is in the region of US$250m.

“Further to value addition, production of lithium batteries is a long term vision for Max Mind Zimbabwe. Currently, the vision is hindered by limited infrastructure available locally, and lack of sufficient lithium resource on the current mining claims. The technology is still limited to developed countries, particularly Asia,” said Mr Mugova.

Director for Economic Affairs and Investment in the Office of the Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Mr Munyaradzi Rubaya said the coming on board of the US$130m lithium mining project will ameliorate Buhera’s economic growth given its multiplier effects of foreign currency generation through exports, employment creation, contribution to fiscal revenues and luring other supporting industries and services.

“Buhera has been lagging behind other districts given its communal and semi-arid outlook, but we now hope the twin mining of lithium at Sabi Star Mine and phosphate at Dorowa Minerals Mine will be the engines of economic growth for the district.

“There are plans by the two mines, not just to export the raw lithium and phosphate, but to add value and beneficiate these mineral in the district before exporting. This arrangement is in sync with the devolution thrust — where resources extracted in a particular region must be value-added in situ to boast the area’s GDP.

“As a nation, we are promoting renewable energy, mainly solar, so through the value addition of lithium, there will be huge demand for solar batteries, for which Buhera and Manicaland will be better positioned to manufacture, thereby reducing the cost of solar energy, which is very popular in the rural areas,” said Mr Rubaya.

Dorowa Minerals Mine is a subsidiary of Chemplex Corporation, which falls under the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) Group of Companies and is wholly owned by Government.

It is the only producer of phosphate in Zimbabwe.

The phosphate produced at Dorowa is used in the production of Compound D, Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium (NPK) fertilisers at Zimbabwe Fertiliser Company (ZFC) and Zimphos in Harare, thereby helping to boost the capital city’s GDP.

Dorowa Minerals is a strategic player in the fertiliser value chain.

It is expected to gradually increase its production capacity to supply the required phosphates concentrate and to meet the growing local demand of Compound D and other Nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (NPK) fertilisers.

Government is in the process of availing US$16m to revamp the plant into a one-stop-fertiliser producing plant.

The mine is also working on a magnetite plant, which upon completion will increase production from the current 2000 to 6000 tonnes for export, thereby earning the company US$1,5m.

 

This project has been fully funded to the tune of US$2,5m.

Magnetite is a by-product of phosphate, and has huge demand in Mozambique and local mines.

There is again a focus to revitalise phosphoric acid which is needed in the production of beverages production, and there is unlimited demand for it.

Buhera Rural District Council chief executive officer, Dr Emily Chibvongodze said although the district is wholly communal, it is rich in natural resources, and if tapped sustainably, its economy will grown quickly.

“We can safely say Buhera is now a rich district because it is endowed with all these minerals.We have a host of investors in lithium, phosphate,vermiculite, tantalite, gold and diamond mining, which now contributes immensely to the economic revitalisation of the district.

“What is required is a model that will transform the economy through diversification and industrialisation. Minerals are natural resources, they are useful and valuable in the condition in which we find them.

“We have adopted a model that seeks to process them into minerals of value to ensure economic sustainability and growth of our GDP as a district. The mining activities are creating employment opportunities for locals and improving education and health facilities.

“The mining companies, through their corporate social responsibility programmes, are upgrading roads, schools, building clinics and drilling boreholes,” said Dr Chibvongodze.

He said mining will help in the growth of Murambinda into a fully-fledged town as the mining companies will get their consumables and other services from the town.

 

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