With the goal of developing the ferrochrome industry beyond exports as the next stage of the chromium value addition drive, Zimbabwe is seeking to attract investors to commit capital into a wider industrial expansion of its chrome sector, as the government moves to position the mineral as a foundation for steel production, speciality alloys, and chemical industries, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Ryan Chigoche
This was revealed by Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa via Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga at the ongoing Africa Chromium Week 2026, organised by the International Chromium Development Association.
Over the years, Zimbabwe’s chrome industry has grown significantly since the era of exporting raw chromite ore, with the country now increasingly shifting towards beneficiation and semi-processed ferrochrome production.
The country currently operates 17 ferrochrome smelters, while exports reached 433,000 metric tonnes in 2025, representing a 19% year-on-year increase.
This performance has propelled Zimbabwe to fourth globally in chromite production and sixth in high-carbon ferrochrome output, underscoring its steady rise in value addition.
Despite this growth in output and exports, authorities say the next phase of the sector’s development lies well beyond ferrochrome production, as the country seeks to deepen beneficiation and expand into higher-value industrial applications.
Speaking at the conference on behalf of President Mnangagwa, VP Chiwenga said Zimbabwe’s chrome strategy extends far beyond high-carbon ferrochrome and is anchored on building a full value chain that captures downstream industrial output.
“…Our vision for the chrome sector extends far beyond high-carbon ferrochrome… it includes chrome chemicals such as chromic acid and chrome pigments, speciality superalloys for jet engines, and chrome plating solutions critical to the global industry. This is Zimbabwe’s roadmap, not an aspiration but a deliberate plan in motion. The foundations are being laid now through smelting clusters, energy infrastructure, special economic zones, and skills development…” Chiwenga said.
He went on to call on potential investors, industry leaders, financiers, and technology partners to consider Zimbabwe as an investment destination within the global chrome value chain, pointing to opportunities for capital deployment across beneficiation, energy development, and downstream industrialisation.
“…I call upon investors, industry leaders, financiers, and technology partners to move beyond dialogue into decisive execution. Zimbabwe offers a clear value proposition, resource certainty, and a government fully committed to value addition and industrial transformation. The opportunity before us is immediate and scalable to deploy capital into beneficiation, to co-develop energy solutions, to establish downstream industries, and to embed chromium innovation across the chromium value chain…” said Chiwenga.
Since ferrochrome production is among the world’s most energy-intensive metallurgical processes, the government has identified electricity supply as a key constraint to deeper beneficiation in the chrome sector.
To support investment in the sector’s expansion and attract new capital into downstream processing, it is introducing subsidised electricity tariffs for ferrochrome producers during a transition phase, while at the same time requiring smelters to invest in captive power generation.
Producers that develop their own power capacity will receive commensurate mining rights and fiscal incentives, with the policy shift aimed at building a new energy architecture to support industrial expansion within the chrome sector.
