‘Ready market for Ziscosteel’

THE soon to be revived Ziscosteel will not struggle to find markets once production starts, because the firm used to produce one of the most sought after steel in the world, chief executive Mr Alois Gowo has said.

Responding to questions from a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy at the Ziscosteel plant recently, Mr Gowo, who was recalled after being retrenched to facilitate the handover/takeover with a Chinese investor, R &F Properties, said Ziscosteel used to export 70 percent of its steel.

“We appreciate that the steel industry at the moment has been dominated by China, which produces at least one billion tonnes of steel per-annum,” he said.

“But, in terms of viability, Ziscosteel will still survive if revived because we used to produce one of the best steel in Africa. We also have a local market that is currently being starved and if the company is revived, it will definitely thrive.”

Mr Gowo said when South Africa was preparing for the Fifa World Cup in 2010, many companies contacted Ziscosteel with the intention of making orders for steel.

“As a country, we lost during the 2010 South Africa World Cup,” he said. “Many companies didn’t know that Ziscosteel had closed and they made contacts intending to place orders for specialised steel.”

Mr Gowo said Ziscosteel was one of the few companies in the world that used to produce steel from raw ore.

“This is one of the advantages of our steel,” he said. “It’s produced from raw ore, which is mined at our nearby mine. Other steel companies produce their products out of scrap metal.”

Mr Gowo said Ziscosteel had huge deposits of ore at its mine with a long lifespan.

The company has other untapped ore reserves in Mwenezi District in Masvingo, he said.

“Our mine has enough ore reserves that can last for over 30 years,” said Mr Gowo. “We also have some untapped reserves in Mwenezi. The conveyor belt and equipment at the mine to take ore to the plant is still intact and once the plant is revived, the ore can easily be taken to the plant.”

President Emmerson Mnangagwa is on record as saying Zimbabwe was now open for business, while reiterating the need to revive the country’s business.

Ziscosteel is one of the major companies that the new Government seeks to revive, with Finance and Economic Planning, Cde Patrick Chinamasa, announcing early this year that Government was taking over the Ziscosteel debt, which had ballooned to over $300 million.