Mining ZimbabweLatest Mining News, Policy and Industry Updates

Miners operating in Zimbabwe will have to pay some of their royalties in refined metal rather than cash effective 1 October 2022, President Mnangagwa has said.

Zimbabwe has abundant reserves of minerals such as gold and platinum group metals (PGM), but power supply problems, a lack of ancillary industries to support mining and currency fluctuations have prevented it from profiting from a resource boom.

The Manhize iron and steel project west of Furtherstone will generate an annual revenue of US$10 billion, it has been revealed.

Rudairo Mapuranga

Speaking at the ground breaking ceremony of the first phase of the plant, the Minister of Mines and Mining Development Hon Winston Chitando said the iron and steel project which has a life of mine of over 100 years which fetch an annual revenue of US$10 billion for the country, contributing significantly to the upper middle income economy.

“This park will process 10 million tonnes of carbon steel annually which at today’s price, we are talking of around US$10 billion per annum.

“Also we are witnessing phase 1 of the park which is producing over 600 thousand tonnes of carbon steel by the third quarter of next year and this will impact to the US$12 billion mining industry,” Hon Winston Chitando said.

As outlined in the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), some of the strategies being employed to grow the mining sector include attracting funding, enhanced exploration, opening of new mines, re-opening of closed mines, expansion of existing mines as well as improve levels of local mineral beneficiation.

This integrated Iron and Steel manufacturing plant will be designed to manufacture carbon steel by the chemical reduction of iron ore using an integrated manufacturing process. The iron from the blast furnaces is converted to steel in a Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) as well as in Electric Arch Furnaces (EAF).

Speaking at the same event, the President Mnangagwa said the the project which will employ over 10 thousand employees is important to the second Republic as its mantra is to see infrastructure development which will be aided by steel from the project.

“Steel production is quite critical in the development of any nation, particularly in infrastructure development. This project therefore dovetails well with the Second Republic’s massive infrastructure development drive as we seek to revamp and modernize our infrastructure for the benefit of our people. This project, in addition to the ZISCO Steel project which is set to be revived, will produce steel not only for the domestic market but will also service the whole Southern African region and global markets thereby generating foreign currency through exports,” President Mnangagwa said.

Dinson Iron and Steel Company (DISCO) Steel Plant is one of Tsingshan Group of China’s mining projects in Zimbabwe. Tsingshan Group is one of the second Republic’s biggest investors with various other projects such as Afrochine Smelting (Pvt) Ltd in Selous, Mashonaland West which is into chrome smelting and Dinson Colliery (Pvt) Ltd in Hwange, Matebeleland which is into coke production. All these projects are inter-linked as both the ferrochrome and coke are required in the steel production.

Miners and prospective miners across Mashonaland Central Province were left stranded at the Bindura Mines and Mining Development offices as the Provincial office closed for a meeting at 12 pm today.

The miners, some coming as far as Muzarabani a distance of over 200km from Bindura, received the shock of their lives when they visited the office only to find it closed with no prior notification.

According to the miners who were stranded at the office not knowing what to do, the office did not write any notice to miners informing them that the office will be closed early today.

“We came as far as Muzarabani just to find that the Mines office is closed. How can we work like that, at least they should have notified us that the office will be closed today,” the miners said.

“Imagine going to a supermarket or bank only to be told they have closed for a meeting. That’s seriously undermining us, yet we play a pivotal role in foreign currency generation in the country,” said another lamented.

When contacted by this publication, the Mashonaland Central Deputy Provincial Mining Director Mrs Mitchell Ngadya said the offices were closed because they were conducting a meeting.

“We are not allowed to speak to the Media but we were closed because we were having a meeting,” she said.

As the country is headed towards the deadline of the 12 billion dollar mining industry it is not clear why a whole Mines office opted to completely stop business instead of using skeletal staff until their meeting was concluded.

Blasting and explosive solutions provider, BME is once again pushing the boundaries of safety with its world-class initiation system, this time testing the resistance of its AXXIS Titanium electronic delay detonators (EDDs) to high current AC voltages.

“There are a number of different voltages that underground mines employ for their various machinery and equipment,” said Tinus Brits, BME’s Global Product Manager – AXXIS™. “The tests we carried out with an independent research partner were able to show that the AXXIS Titanium™ EDD is very resistant to high current AC voltages.”

The Department of Minerals Resources ARP1717 certification is relevant to this aspect of blasting providing a foundation for the safety levels expected from blasting equipment, said Bennie van Nieuwenhuizen, quality manager for AXXIS™.

“In line with our innovation focus and our commitment to safety, the tests we conducted were to push the boundaries even further in the interests of safe blasting and mining,” said Van Nieuwenhuizen. “We were therefore interested in characterising the response of our detonators at far higher currents and voltages than the standards require.”

The context for these tests is that EDDs are typically deployed in mining environments where the range of energy levels is difficult to predict – as every mine will have their own preferred power supplies. In some mining applications, EDDs are used near electrical wires or electric initiation systems.

“This gives rise to the risk that the EDDs could be exposed to high voltages and currents due to human error or equipment failure,” said Andries Posthumus, AXXIS™ product development manager. “It is therefore important that EDDs should have resistance to initiation when unintentionally exposed to high voltage and current.”

He highlighted that the AXXIS Titanium™ EDD consists of an encapsulated electronic module, with an electronic printed circuit board that is over-moulded with a plastic material in a proprietary shape.

The area closest to the explosive part of the detonator forms a friction fit, as the detonator tube is tapered to the bottom. This forms a seal mechanism, isolating the electronic components from the pyro-technic head and base charge.

The testing protocol required specialised high-power inputs, so BME partnered with the National Electrical Test Facility (NETFA), said BME electronic engineer Hendrik van Niekerk.

“The tests involved a high current AC voltage source consisting of a live node, connected through a resistor to the one wire of the detonator, and the neutral node to the other wire of the detonator,” said Van Niekerk. “A remote contactor was used to start the AC exposure, while we measured the voltage with a high voltage probe and measured the current level with a current probe.”

The test levels were pushed to extreme levels not expected in normal operating conditions and in all
the samples tested, no initiation occurred.

“We were pleased with the results of the tests, which showed that BME continues to operate at the
highest levels of safety,” said Brits. “Our innovative approach ensures that our ongoing research and
testing finds new opportunities for safe and efficient blasting.”

MORE than 100 people died in mining accidents recorded across the country in the smallscale mining sector since January this year.

The figure excludes accidents that happened at big mines.

Addressing safety and health officers attending the ongoing Safety and Health at Work (SHAW) 2022 conference in Victoria Falls, Mr Winston Maenzanise, a director in the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, said there has been a sharp increase in mine fatalities in the last five years.

He said the major causes of the accidents, especially in the informal mining sector, include improper mining methods, lack of defined mining methods, use of improper equipment and operating machinery under the influence of alcohol.

“More than 75 percent of the accidents recorded involve illegal miners who are usually nomads in nature as they move from one place to another at a very alarming rate,” said Mr Maenzanise.

He said in 2020 there were 84 accidents and 93 deaths.

In 2021, 68 people were killed in 51 accidents and 47 of the deaths were a result of collapse of ground while nine died from inhaling gas and 12 from shaft accidents.

This year, nine fatal accidents have been recorded in illegal mines and 18 in registered mines, causing 107 deaths.

Some of the accidents were attributed to disregard of regulations and use of improper equipment.

“Illegal miners lack competence levels and have no safe mining methods training. They also do not hold blasting licences. Some of the accidents across board were a result of lack of proper and defined mining methods,” said Mr Maenzanise.

He said some operations use windlasses beyond 30 metres despite the law stipulating that they should be used only up to 30 metres.

They also use nylon ropes which usually snap while others rely on human effort on windlasses that usually have no locking mechanism and have poor mine support.

“Some, especially illegal miners, have shafts too close to each other while also working on back filled areas and also use explosives without knowledge,” said Mr Maenzanise.

He said there is a need for miners to acquire skills and knowledge through training.

“Winches and hoists should be used for shafts deeper than 30 metres and these should be fitted with a locking mechanism and using steel rope instead of nylon ropes with proper mine support. Shafts should be at least 40 metres apart, avoid pillar robbing and avoid working in back filled areas,” said Mr Maenzanise.

He said mining areas should also be well ventilated and miners should invest in gas monitors while adhering to four-hour re-entry periods.

Some of the fatalities were recorded in Mzingwane River in Matabeleland South and Battlefields in Mashonaland West where illegal miners carry out operations on rivers.

The Chronicle