Zimbabwe’s coal producers are ready to invest in their own trains to unlock export markets, but approvals from state entities remain elusive, former chairman of the Coal Producers Association, Linos Masimura, has said.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
Linos Masimura, who is also a shareholder at Zambezi Gas, told the Chamber of Mines Annual Conference’s Coal, Oil and Gas Symposium that producers have been pushing to acquire rolling stock since 2023, only to be frustrated by a cycle of approvals and cancellations.
“Myself in particular have got a project that we have been running which should have trains on the road, helping our production make its way to the ports and to customers in bulk,” Masimura said.
“But at the moment, we then engage NRZ, we then engage the shareholder for NRZ. But what has been delaying us from starting is the approvals. There are no approvals for us to start.”
He stressed that producers do not expect the government to fund the initiative.
“We need the trains, and we don’t expect someone else to come and invest for us. We have to do it ourselves, and we are ready to do so,” he said.
Production Slumps as ZESA Orders Fall
Masimura also highlighted a sharp decline in domestic demand, with ZPC orders dropping from around 250,000 tonnes per month to between 100,000 and 150,000 tonnes.
“At the moment, the local uptake of coal in power generation Units 1 to 6 is a bit low,” he said. “So, in the end, it also influences the total amount of coal that can be produced because 50 to 60 percent of our coal goes into power generation. When there’s a slowdown in Units 1 to 6, there’s naturally going to be a slowdown in production as well.”
The reduced offtake from Hwange’s older units, which have faced persistent operational challenges, has forced producers to scale back operations. Zambezi Gas, which started full mining operations in March 2025 and has since doubled production from 50,000 to 100,000 tonnes per month, now sells 50 percent of its coal to ZPC.
New Technology Offers Cleaner Coal Pathway
Masimura also spoke about the industry’s environmental trajectory, pointing to integrated technologies such as coal-to-products (CFP), which can eliminate waste while keeping emissions below well-established standards.
“Power generation and cement making into one plant, and you can use CFP technology to produce all your products in an integrated way where there’s no waste in terms of physical waste, but at the same time you are producing well below wellbeing standards in terms of emissions,” he said.
“These new technologies are helping to achieve that sustainability as well as cleaning up coal operations.”
With domestic demand constrained and export ambitions stalled by bureaucratic inertia, Masimura’s message was clear: coal producers are willing to invest in their own future, but they need the regulatory green light to do so.
