Zimplats Holdings, Zimbabwe’s biggest producer of platinum, will complete the expansion of a recovery plant on schedule in April, processing ore from a new two-million-ton underground mine, CEO Alex Mhembere says.
The $460-million project will increase annual production to 270 000 oz from 187 000 oz last year. “The second stage, which is underground mining development, will reach full production in 2015 as originally planned,” Mhembere says.
Zimbabwe, which has the biggest platinum and chrome reserves after South Africa, does not have a refinery and the bulk of Zimplats’ platinum is processed at Impala Platinum’s plant, near Johannesburg.
Impala, which owned 87% of Zimplats, signed the terms to sell 51% to the country’s black citizens on January 11.
Zimplats has spent $30-million on a feasibility study for a refinery in Zimbabwe that will cost at least $2-billion, Mhembere says. “Building a refinery is not only down to cost and the availability of feedstock but also depends on the availability of a number of factors, chief among them a stable and adequate power supply,” he says.
The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority, the Southern African country’s only power utility, produces 1 100 MW, while demand is estimated at 2 100 MW. The deficit has led to outages that can last as long as 13 hours a day, curbing output, according to the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries.
Zimplats “isn’t expecting any major shifts” in platinum prices from current levels in the short term; the medium- to longer-term price levels will more than likely respond to supply factors”, Mhembere concludes.