To tackle a 30–40% increase in fertiliser costs that has been squeezing farmers and threatening food security, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube has revealed that three major coal-to-fertiliser projects are being fast-tracked, with combined investments exceeding US$1 billion and the potential to make Zimbabwe self-sufficient in fertiliser production by 2030, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
Speaking during a question-and-answer session at the 66th Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), Ncube acknowledged the severity of the price pressures on agricultural inputs.
“Fertiliser, which is another chapter, we’ve seen that 30–40% increase easily on fertiliser,” the minister said. “The way we respond to it, and also to support our industry, is to really push hard in incentivising new investors into the fertiliser sector.”
Prof Ncube disclosed that the government is currently engaged with three serious investors who are at various stages of establishing large-scale fertiliser production facilities, each leveraging Zimbabwe’s abundant coal reserves as the primary feedstock for nitrogen-based fertiliser synthesis.
“One investor was invested in Norton, Sunny Yi Feng,” the minister said. “They took trials, and now they’re going into fertiliser in a very, very big way. They probably invested easily US$500 million into fertiliser production.”
The Norton project involves Chinese firms Sunny Yi Feng Tiles Zimbabwe, already a prominent manufacturer of ceramic and porcelain tiles in the country, and Wintrue Holdings, a Chinese fertiliser producer. The partnership is targeting the establishment of a coal-based fertiliser production plant in Norton, with an estimated investment of US$500 million. According to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the plant is expected to produce over 300,000 tonnes of urea annually, a volume that could substantially close Zimbabwe’s domestic fertiliser gap. Zimbabwe’s annual fertiliser requirement stands at approximately 780,000 tonnes, yet local producer Windmill Private Limited is currently operating at only 10% capacity.
The minister identified a second company operating in the Palm River area as a distinctive integrated project that combines mining, power generation, and fertiliser manufacturing.
“The second company is a company that is in Palm River. The Palm River complex might be mining coal or ferrochrome. Through some very complex chemistry that they’ve mapped, they are going to be manufacturing fertiliser,” Prof Ncube said.
The Palm River project, operating under Xintai, represents a US$200 million investment that will manufacture 200,000 metric tonnes of urea and 200,000 metric tonnes of ammonium nitrate annually. Construction is scheduled to commence in June 2026, with first production expected by February 2027. The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has praised the project’s “integrated model,” with Minister Dr Polite Kambamura noting that “Palm River is pioneering the generation of its own electricity and utilising gas emissions for power, a first in Zimbabwe.”
The project forms part of the larger Xintai Palm River Energy Metallurgical Industrial Park in Beitbridge, which also includes ferrochrome production as part of Zimbabwe’s beneficiation agenda, with ferrochrome exports reaching 433,293 metric tonnes in 2025.
The third investor, located in Hwange, is similarly pursuing fertiliser production from coal, a process the minister explained as fundamentally rooted in hydrocarbon chemistry.
“The third company in Hwange, which is also involved in investing in this fertiliser. When you come from coal, fertiliser, that flourish, comes from these hydrocarbons, which is coal,” Ncube said.
A US$400 million coal-to-fertiliser plant has been confirmed for Gudo communal lands in the Chiredzi District, which falls under the broader Hwange coal belt. Additionally, a separate US$5.2 billion coal beneficiation project operating under the joint venture company Vectol Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd, which covers fertiliser production alongside liquid fuels and chemicals, has been granted national project status, with the potential to produce 8 million litres of liquid fuels daily—substantially exceeding national consumption of approximately 5 million litres per day.
The Technical Basis: Coal-to-Fertiliser Chemistry
The minister’s reference to “complex chemistry” points to the coal gasification process, in which coal is converted into synthesis gas (syngas), a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, through partial oxidation with steam and oxygen. The syngas is then shifted to adjust the hydrogen-to-carbon monoxide ratio, followed by the water-gas shift reaction to produce hydrogen, which is combined with nitrogen (from an air separation unit) to synthesise ammonia via the Haber-Bosch process. The ammonia is subsequently converted to urea (CO(NH₂)₂) through reaction with carbon dioxide, a by-product of the gasification process itself.
This chemical pathway explains why the Palm River project’s “complex chemistry” integrates coal mining, power generation (using gas emissions), and fertiliser production in a single industrial complex. The minister’s phrasing captures the full value chain from raw coal to finished agricultural input.
Ncube confirmed that the government is providing fiscal incentives to accelerate project implementation. One investor has already received Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status, while another is in the process of receiving similar designation.
“One of them has already received Special Economic Zone status, and one is meant to receive similar status soon. We are working on the one in Norton,” the minister said.
SEZ status typically confers benefits including reduced corporate tax rates, duty-free importation of capital equipment, and streamlined regulatory approvals—incentives designed to lower the capital intensity of large-scale chemical manufacturing projects.
Phosphate Industry Also Targeted
The minister underscored that Zimbabwe’s response to the fertiliser cost crisis is not limited to coal-based nitrogenous fertilisers. The country’s domestic phosphate resources are also being revitalised.
“Zimbabwe also produces fertiliser from a phosphate-growing domain, so again, we’re supporting investments in phosphate as a fertiliser industry as well,” Ncube said.
The Dorowa phosphate mine, the country’s sole phosphate producer, is currently undergoing a US$5.3 million refurbishment under the Mutapa Investment Fund, which has budgeted US$153 million for the fertiliser value chain as a whole. Once fully operational in May, Dorowa is expected to produce 100,000 tonnes of phosphate concentrate annually, sufficient to support the production of approximately 300,000 tonnes of basal fertiliser—a significant step toward meeting national demand of 450,000 tonnes.
The government has also disbursed US$10 million to the Zimbabwe Fertiliser Company, US$3 million to ZimPhos, and US$13.3 million to Sable Chemicals as part of the revitalisation effort.
Import Dependency and Strategic Shift
Zimbabwe imported about US$331 million worth of fertilisers in 2024, leaving the agricultural sector highly exposed to global supply shocks, including disruptions linked to the ongoing US-Israel confrontation with Iran and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The country currently imports essential raw materials, including urea and ammonium nitrate from Russia, potash from Belarus, and liquefied natural gas feedstock from Oman, the UAE, and Qatar.
The combined capacity of the three coal-to-fertiliser projects, alongside the revitalisation of the phosphate sector, positions Zimbabwe to significantly reduce this import dependency.
