The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
STATE-OWNED diamond mining concern, Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC), is targeting to produce 5.5 million carats this year, a marginal increase from last year’s targets.
This was revealed by Mines and Mining Development Minister, Honourable Soda Zhemu during a tour of ZCDC mine and plant at Chiadzwa on Wednesday.
In an interview on the sidelines of the tour, Minister Zhemu said he is impressed with the growth in the mining company’s production margins.
“Definitely, I am impressed with the presented figures as they show that they are growing in terms of production.
“Just last year, their target was lower than what they are envisaging to achieve in 2024, which is about 5.5 million carats.
“That is a great deal in terms of the earnings that they will achieve, not only for the mine, but for the whole nation, including communities they service by the presence of this mine in Chiadzwa,” he said.
Minister Zhemu decried the global downward spiral of the prices of minerals, but expressed confidence that local players in the industry will stay afloat through increased production capacity.
“The mining sector is actually on a rise in the country with regards to production, save for what is affecting most miners in Zimbabwe, which is beyond our control.
“Currently prices are on a nosedive and that is affecting the appetite for expansion. However, this is a normal trend.
“It is a cyclical trend in mining for prices to go up and down.
“What we are urging miners is to take advantage of the current capacity of increased production so that workers do not lose their jobs and suffer from other negative impacts of the prices downwards trend,” said Minister Zhemu.
The minister said ZCDC has acquitted itself well with regards to environmental reclamation.
“We have so much interest in understanding the rehabilitation processes that they are undertaking after the mineral has been extracted.
“We are impressed with the rehabilitation process, they are actually gap-filling all the places that would have been opened in the mining process.
“The reclaimed land is being left almost in its natural state.
“Other mining companies must take a leaf from the environmental reclamation work being done by ZCDC,” said Minister Zhemu.
Minister Zhemu and the Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Advocate Misheck Mugadza were taken through the mine’s operations, including ore extraction, exploration of the diamonds and movement of ore from the mine to the processing plant.
