The Sunday News
Turnall Holdings spends $24 million on chrysotile imports from Russia, Brazil
Gabriel Masvora Business Editor
TURNALL Holdings is spending about $24 million per year importing its major raw material chrysotile fibre from Russia and Brazil to make pipes as its main local suppliers Shabanie-Mashaba Mines have been closed since 2008. Turnall was the biggest consumer of asbestos produced at the asbestos mine
using 10 percent of the throughput while the 90 percent was for export markets.
Figures availed to Sunday Business on Friday during a Zimbabwe Miners Federation facilitated tour of the company in Bulawayo show that the pipe and construction company is importing 20 000 tonnes of chrysotile from either Russia or Brazil per year.
“Each tonne costs between $1 000 and $1 200,” Turnall Holdings production manager Mr William Chitate said.
There are additional costs in shipping and buying other raw materials as the material from Russia and Brazil is not of the required standards.
“Our machines were designed to deal with high tensile strength chrysotile which was only found at Shabanie-Mashaba mines. The mines used to produce the best chrysotile in the world. Now we have to buy synthetic fibre to add to the product which we get from Brazil and Russia to meet the cost and this adds to the cost,” he said.
Mr Chitate said additionally it takes two to three months to transport the chrysotile from these countries compared to when it used to take one day when bought from Zvishavane.
“We pay today and get the product after three months. In the past we would pay in the morning and get our high quality product the same day. The closure of those mines has really affected our raw material procuring chain.”
So desperate was the company that it contemplated searching dumps at Mashaba Mine with a hope of getting the raw material.
Mr Chitate said they have talked to Shabanie mine officials with a hope of finding a solution to the mine.
“When we dug the dumps unfortunately we did not get the quality we expected. Right now we are pleading with the Government to do something about re-opening the company.”
Asked why Turnall was contemplating investing in the mines as a way of cutting costs, Turnall Holdings Chrysotile Advocacy manager Mr Shame Chibvongodze said there were many issues surrounding the mine worship which needed to be looked at.
“Besides, we do not have the capacity to take over the mines. It is said the company needs $120 million to just start operations. Our turnover is just $60 million,” he said.
However, in spite of the challenges of getting chrysotile Mr Chitate said the company was on its track to ramp production and meet demand.
“We are operating at around 70 percent capacity utilisation and by year end we will be around 85 percent. Going forward we actually want to expand our installed capacity. We know many companies are closing and complaining but we are not looking at that. We will be the last company to close in Bulawayo if ever,” vowed Mr Chitate.
The company is already buoyed by demand both locally and internationally.
It has won a $1 million contract to supply Masvingo town council 800 tonnes of pipes.
They are now producing around 1 000 pipes per day to meet the Masvingo order and other markets
He said they were expecting to grow local demand to around 22 percent from 10 percent by year-end.
“We have also invested heavily in automation projects to just ensure that our machines are up to date.”
The company has 750 employees on its books for both the Bulawayo and Harare plants.
However economists worry that such a company with a huge potential can suffer through importing substandard chrysotile while the country has the best fibre at Shabanie-Mashaba mines.
The mines ground to a halt in 2008, three years after the Government seized them from businessman Mr Mutumwa Mawere under a reconstruction law that allowed the state to take over assets of businesses deemed to be insolvent and incapable of servicing loans and charges owed to state institutions and agencies.
Mr Mawere, who is now exiled in South Africa, has been arguing that Government must return the mines to him.
The mines were subsequently placed under the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC), which has been looking for an investor to put up $120 million required to re-open the mines.
Last year Government formed a Zimbabwe National Chrysotile Taskforce which was
