The Sunday News
Dosman Mangisi Midlands Correspondent
GOVERNMENT has announced raw chrome ore prices of $80 on delivery and $65 ex-works per tonne which the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will be buying from small-scale producers as a way of boosting production of the mineral.
The SPV was formed as a department of the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe to focus specifically on chrome in order to create efficiency in the trading of the mineral.
Other stakeholders in the SPV are Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
Addressing small-scale miners in Kwekwe on Thursday, Mines and Mining Development Deputy Minister Fred Moyo said the prices were reached after considering market value of the mineral at international markets.
“I can safely say Government is now ready to buy chrome ore through the SPV after we finally reached new starting prices per tonne balancing with the world market price. A tonne of raw chrome ore will be $80 on delivery and $65 on ex-works. The financiers are ready to buy save for some few logistics of organising the small scale miners of chrome in their districts which the duty of Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF), the umbrella body of chrome ore producers”, said Cde Moyo.
The price of delivery is the price paid to a miner after delivering his chrome with his own means of transport to the buying point and ex-works price is the price charged when the buyer comes to buy at mine site incurring the transport costs.
Government is working on the logistics around chrome mineral production which will see the setting up of weigh bridges and laboratories in the chrome mining districts.
The country also lifted the ban on importation of raw chrome in June.
The mineral is trading at about $300 per tonne on the international market but importers also incur huge bills on transport and insurance.
Local miners said the prices were better compared to what some middlemen were offering.
Mr Tichafa Zinyemba a seasoned chrome miner based in Shurugwi expressed hope that the prices will spur chrome mining among small scale miners.
“The price is better compared to what some Chinese who had dominated the local market were buying at $30 and $40 of raw chrome on ex-works.
With your own transport a miner will only get an additional of $5. These buyers were also taking more than week to pay you of which in this case Government has promised to pay in a shorter period of a week”, said Mr Zinyemba who is also a committee member of small scale chrome miners in Shurugwi.
As part of improving chrome production, ZMF is carrying out a feasibility study to bring out the correct situation on chrome ore, the tonnages of ore which are ready on the ground for trading and the total output projection which can be produced by small-scale miners in a monthly base.
According to ZMF reports they are eight mining administration districts with a potential of creating 35 800 jobs producing an average of 447 500 tonnes of chrome ore per month with over 900 chrome miners if they are given machinery assistance by Government as promised.
