Dinson Iron and Steel Company (DISCO) is moving to turn waste generated from its steelmaking operations into cement, adding a new layer to the Manhize industrial complex as the company seeks to build a circular manufacturing system around its steel plant, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
DISCO Chief Operations Officer Wilfred Motsi said the company was close to starting cement production using material generated as a by-product of steelmaking.
“We are now turning our waste into cement,” Motsi said, indicating that production was expected to begin within weeks.
The development forms part of DISCO’s wider strategy to use by-products from one industrial process as inputs for another, reducing waste while creating additional products and revenue streams.
The cement project is expected to use blast-furnace slag generated during iron and steel production. Earlier industry reporting put the planned cement plant’s capacity at about 400,000 tonnes a year, with production expected during October 2026.
For an integrated steel operation, the development is significant because blast-furnace slag is produced in substantial quantities during ironmaking.
Instead of treating the material solely as waste requiring disposal, DISCO intends to use it as an industrial input.
Motsi described the approach as part of a broader circular-economy model being developed at Manhize.
The cement plant also expands the industrial footprint of the project beyond steel.
DISCO is already producing pig iron, billets, reinforcement bars and wire rods, while the company has outlined additional manufacturing facilities targeting mining and other industries.
The result is a developing chain in which iron ore and other raw materials enter the complex, steel is produced and rolled into finished products, and by-products from the process are redirected into other manufacturing operations.
That approach could increase the amount of value extracted from every tonne of raw material entering the industrial complex.
It also creates additional demand for logistics.
The NRZ and Grand Railway Solutions agreement signed at Manhize on Monday is designed to provide rail capacity for the movement of bulk materials into the complex and finished products out of it.
The agreement includes a planned approximately 54-kilometre railway connection between Manhize and Mvuma, rehabilitation of the Mvuma-Gweru section and the deployment of locomotives and wagons.
GRS has put the initial budget for the new Manhize-Mvuma line at approximately US$125 million. The railway’s initial cargo focus includes coal and coke from Hwange to Manhize and steel products moving towards domestic and export markets.
Motsi has previously identified limestone among the bulk commodities that could be moved by rail as the Manhize industrial ecosystem expands.
That could become increasingly relevant as cement production grows.
The developing logistics chain therefore has the potential to connect several industries rather than simply serving the steel plant: coal from Hwange, iron ore and other minerals into Manhize, limestone for cement production, steel products to customers, and cement and other finished products to domestic and regional markets.
This is particularly important because the cost of transporting bulk materials can influence the competitiveness of heavy industry.
Motsi said DISCO had historically depended heavily on road transport to move raw materials and finished products, making the rail project important as production volumes increase.
The circular-economy initiative is also being developed alongside DISCO’s plans to expand its overall industrial footprint.
The company has an 800-hectare Special Economic Zone at Manhize, with more than 300 companies reported to have expressed interest in opportunities around the industrial complex.
That creates the possibility of multiple manufacturing activities sharing raw materials, energy, transport infrastructure and industrial by-products.
For Zimbabwe’s mining and manufacturing sectors, the model could be significant if it develops beyond DISCO’s own operations.
Steelmaking waste being converted into cement is one example of how a large mineral-processing investment can generate secondary industries, while steel products such as mill balls and other mining inputs create another link between mineral beneficiation and downstream manufacturing.
Motsi said DISCO’s broader objective was to move away from an economy centred on exporting minerals towards one based on processing, manufacturing and finished products.
The success of that model will depend on whether the new facilities operate at commercial scale and whether the supporting infrastructure, particularly reliable power and rail freight, develops at the same pace.
At Manhize, steel production is therefore increasingly becoming the centre of a wider industrial system in which mining, energy, manufacturing, cement and logistics are being developed around one another.
The planned use of steelmaking by-products for cement adds another component to that system, turning what would otherwise be a waste stream into another industrial product.
