The Sunday News
Munyaradzi Musiiwa
WORLD leading platinum miner Anglo-American Platinum which owns Unki Mine in Shurugwi is negotiating with the Zimbabwe Alloys (Zim Alloys) to turn the latter’s ferrochrome smelting into a platinum refinery. Amplats is one of the leading platinum miners in the country and is part of the big three which have been approached by the Government to set up a platinum refinery as part of efforts to beneficiate the mineral.
The other companies are Zimplats which is owned by Impala Platinum and Mimosa Mine jointly owned by Implats and Aquarius Platinum.
In an interview last week, Zim Alloys judicial manager Mr Reggie Saruchera of Grant Thornton said the Gweru-based ferrochrome smelting company had been approached by Unki Mine intending to utilise its plant for a platinum refinery although nothing had materialised yet.
He said the two parties were still negotiating to see if they could reach a consensus.
“We are currently talking to Unki and we will see how that comes out. At the moment there is nothing concrete,” he said.
Sources, however, revealed that Unki Mine was willing to turn the Zim Alloys plant into a platinum refinery as it heeds Government’s call on value addition and beneficiation as espoused in the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim Asset).
Recently Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development Cde Fred Moyo said Zimplats had reached the final stages of the modification and refurbishment of its Base Metal Refinery (BMR) at its Selous Metallurgical Complex (SMC) a project which is estimated to gobble about $134 million.
He said the refurbishment of the BMR was in tandem with the Government beneficiation and value addition policy as also adopted in the Zim Asset.
“There are three key stages in platinum refinery and these are concentration, smelting and refining. Zimplats are now smelting while Unki and Mimosa are concentrating. In the next few weeks we will have a common position on how these companies are going to go about it.”
Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa in his mid-year budget review statement also said platinum producers had outlined a time-framed roadmap for the setting up of a domestic platinum refining capacity.
“In this regard, I am pleased to note and report that the respective mining houses, boards and shareholders — notably Unki, Mimosa and Zimplats — have made specific commitments,” he said.
