Zimbabwe Chrome Smelters to Generate Their Own Power as Beneficiation Drive Intensifies

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  • Zimbabwe Demands Captive Power for Chrome Smelters as Beneficiation Era Begins

To ensure the chrome beneficiation agenda aligns with national power generation realities, Zimbabwe has drawn a clear line in the sand: future smelting capacity will rise or fall on captive power, not the national grid, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Rudairo Mapuranga

Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga, speaking at the Africa Chromium Week 2026 conference in Victoria Falls, delivered the government’s most definitive policy statement yet on the energy-industrial nexus. The message to global investors was unmistakable: Zimbabwe is serious about beneficiation, and that seriousness now extends to power.

“Critics questioned our smelting capacity and power supply when we reinstated the chrome ore export ban in 2022,” Chiwenga told delegates. “They doubted beneficiation was viable and predicted a policy reversal. We did not retreat. Instead, we invested and scaled capacity.”

Zimbabwe first introduced a chrome ore export ban in 2011 under Statutory Instrument 113, aimed at forcing local processing. The policy was inconsistently enforced, with exemptions granted and later revoked, creating uncertainty for miners. In 2022, the government reinstated the ban decisively, closing loopholes that had allowed raw chrome concentrates to leave the country. The current position, reiterated at the highest levels, is absolute: no raw chrome ore crosses Zimbabwe’s borders for export. All production must be beneficiated locally into ferrochrome or higher-value alloys.

The policy was met with scepticism. Industry players questioned whether Zimbabwe’s smelting capacity and power infrastructure could handle the increased load. Some predicted that miners would simply reduce output rather than invest in expensive smelting technology. Others warned that the ban would drive informal exports through neighbouring countries.

Instead, Zimbabwe invested.

Today, the country operates 17 ferrochrome smelters. In 2025, ferrochrome exports reached 433,293 metric tonnes, a 19% year-on-year surge. Zimbabwe now ranks fourth globally in chromite production and sixth in high-carbon ferrochrome. These are no longer aspirations. They are delivered results.

But the Vice President made it clear that the next phase of industrialisation requires a fundamental break from the past.

The Palm River Template

Vice President Chiwenga singled out the Palm River Energy Metallurgical Special Economic Zone as the model for Zimbabwe’s chrome-powered future. The US$3.6 billion project, which the government has fully endorsed, is not just a smelter; it is an integrated energy-industrial complex designed to solve the power problem at source.

“You want to process chrome at scale in Zimbabwe? Then you bring power to the party,” a senior ministry official familiar with the policy told Mining Zimbabwe, summarising the Vice President’s stance.

The Palm River zone will anchor a 2-million-tonnes-per-year ferrochrome smelter alongside a 1,200 MW power complex, a coking plant, and an integrated industrial park. It is projected to create 10,000 direct jobs and position Zimbabwe among the world’s largest ferrochrome producers.

For the 17 existing smelters and any new entrants, the template is now the target. Captive generation, whether through dedicated coal, waste heat recovery, solar, or gas, is no longer a competitive advantage. It is a licence to operate.

What the Industry Is Saying

The policy direction aligns with broader global trends. Shiraz Neffati, Executive Director of the International Chromium Development Association (ICDA), told the same conference that the chromium industry’s future depends on more than just ore quality.

“For the chromium industry to thrive, it needs perfect alignment between political stability, access to reliable and cost-effective energy, and green energy,” Neffati said.

She also emphasised chromium’s growing strategic importance. “Chromium is set to be a critical raw material for several jurisdictions because it is an enabler in several applications: stainless steel, speciality steel, defence, aerospace, energy, engineering, and new technology. If you don’t have Chromium, these applications cannot exist.”

Neffati’s remarks underscore the opportunity before Zimbabwe. As chromium gains critical raw material status globally, countries that can supply processed material from stable, energy-secure jurisdictions will capture premium market access, particularly as Europe’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) rewards cleaner production.

Why This Is a Real Deal

Zimbabwe is not bluffing. The chrome ore export ban remains firmly in force. The government has shown it will enforce beneficiation. And now, with the Palm River model, it has demonstrated what success looks like.

The timing aligns with a generational shift in global chromium demand. China’s industrial expansion continues to anchor consumption. India is emerging as the next major frontier for stainless steel. Europe’s CBAM is redefining trade flows to reward cleaner, more efficient production.

Zimbabwe, with the world’s second-largest chrome reserves and a policy framework now anchored on energy-integrated beneficiation, is positioning itself to capture value at every level, not just digging ore and shipping it out.

Dr. Chiwenga’s address was not a plea for investment. It was an invitation to partner on Zimbabwe’s terms. The country has the ore, it has the policy, and now, through projects like Palm River, it is building the power to process it all.

“We have moved from defending our policy to demonstrating its results,” the Vice President said. “What comes next is scale.”

Zimbabwe is no longer asking whether it can beneficiate its chrome. It is showing how. The answer, according to the country’s second-highest office, is power integrated, dedicated, and built alongside every major smelter.

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