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In a major move to resuscitate Zimbabwe’s crippled fertiliser industry, the Mutapa Investment Fund has deployed US$5.3 million, a capital injection that has drawn supportive scrutiny from Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Industry and Commerce, led by Honourable Clemence Chiduwa, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
This significant financial commitment marks the first phase of a comprehensive plan to revive the dormant Dorowa Mine, the nation’s sole phosphate producer, with the goal of slashing costly imports and securing the agricultural sector’s foundation.
The fortunes of Zimbabwe’s fertiliser supply chain are set for a dramatic turnaround following a US$5.3 million capital injection from the Mutapa Investment Fund into the historic Dorowa Mine. The investment has rekindled hopes of restoring local fertiliser production, a development that has been welcomed by lawmakers, including Honourable Clemence Chiduwa, who has highlighted the critical need for the revival despite underlying corporate governance concerns.
Established in 1965 and reaching full production by 1973, Dorowa Mine in Buhera was for decades central to Zimbabwe’s fertiliser security before years of undercapitalisation and neglect reduced its output to a mere 15 percent of its capacity. The new revival plan, spearheaded by the Mutapa Fund in partnership with the Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe (IDCZ), seeks to restore the mine’s production to levels that can once again sustain national demand.
IDCZ Board Chairperson, Mr Winston Makamure, provided a stark assessment of the mine’s condition, underscoring the necessity of the Mutapa money. “Dorowa is not producing what it should be producing despite having the best phosphate in the world. When we came in as a new board, the plant was operating at 15 percent capacity utilisation, but in 2021 to 2022, we managed to push production to 26 percent. Those efforts were reversed due to the plant’s decades-long lack of maintenance,” he revealed. “Established in 1965, the last major maintenance was done in 1973. With IDCZ now under the Mutapa Investment Fund, we have already bought 90 percent of the materials to conduct phase 1 refurbishment.”
The Mutapa Investment Fund has expressed strong confidence in the project’s timeline. The first phase of refurbishment is slated for completion by April of next year, which will pave the way for a second renovation process. The total investment is expected to reach US$16 million to fully modernise the ageing plant.
Tatenda Chimusoro, Mutapa Investment Fund Head of Clustered for Agriculture and Industries, outlined the ambitious production targets. “We have secured US$5.3 million for the first phase, and it is our hope that it will be completed in April next year. In terms of output, we are looking at 100,000 tonnes of phosphate concentrate, which will translate to 200,000 tonnes of basal fertiliser. The second phase will be undertaken in the second and third quarters of next year. The national requirement of basal fertiliser is about 350,000 metric tonnes, and we will meet that demand between 2026 and 2027. Currently, Dorowa is not operational, and we are importing phosphates, a situation this investment is designed to reverse.”
The project received parliamentary oversight during a recent visit by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Industry and Commerce. The committee’s chairperson, Honourable Clemence Chiduwa, affirmed the strategic importance of the mine while calling for rigorous oversight.
“Dorowa is the only mine in Zimbabwe that mines phosphate, which is a primary ingredient for basal fertilisers. Over the years, we have witnessed a complete breakdown of the fertiliser supply chain, and you can see here that at the moment, there is no production,” Chiduwa stated. “We are saying that to revive and promote the full value chains of the fertiliser sector, we need to revive Dorowa. We have identified a number of problems, including non-availability of electricity and capital challenges, and we are hoping that with the coming in of the Mutapa Investment Fund and its money, the situation is going to improve. However, corporate governance issues also require serious interrogation to ensure this investment yields lasting results.”
With the Mutapa Investment Fund’s capital now flowing into the project, Dorowa Mine is firmly on a path to recovery. The revival promises not only to restore local fertiliser production and stabilise agricultural inputs but also to stimulate employment and drive broader industrial growth. Beyond phosphate, the mine is also a producer of magnetite, positioning it with the potential to become a significant contributor to the nation’s steel production industry in the future.
