The $62-million smelter at Unki Mine’s existing complex is a strategic investment that meets local beneficiation commitments, Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) said last month, when it opened the installation at a ceremony in Shurugwi, Zimbabwe.

The smelter investment is indicative of the JSE-listed company’s long-term commitment to the landlocked south-central African republic.

Smelter construction, which was announced in 2015, is an extension of the company’s commitment to the local beneficiation of minerals and is in line with the plans of the government of Zimbabwe for vital economic growth.

Custom designed and cost efficient, the smelter is sized to meet Unki’s current production, while retaining the capability for upgrades to meet future increased mine production.

The scope of the facility is the primary smelting of Unki concentrate to produce a furnace matte that is crushed on site and transported to Amplats’ converter process facility in Rustenburg, South Africa, for further processing.

Furnace heat-up began in early August last year, matte was produced at the end of September and the export of crushed matte has been under way since mid-November.

Unki chairperson James Maposa said the smelter would increase the operation’s processing capacity significantly.

“We have heeded the government’s beneficiation call,” Maposa added in a release to Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly.

He described beneficiation as a key pillar of Zimbabwe’s goal to add value, generate employment and accelerate industrial development from its mineral resources.

In commending the investment, Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando said the local beneficiation of platinum-group metals (PGMs) was having a positive socioeconomic effect.

He added that the smelter would lower the amount of PGM concentrate being exported and increase foreign currency earnings.

Since 2008, Amplats has invested more than $500-million in mining and social infrastructure and the Unki mine has implemented projects in farming, sanitation, water infrastructure, economic development, roads and capacity building.

The mine has worked with local government, community leaders and nongovernmental organisations to contribute to community housing, infrastructure, healthcare, education and recreation.