President to commission Unki Platinum processing plant

SHURUGWI-BASED Anglo-American Platinum Miners, Unki Mine’s $62 million platinum processing plant is now complete and is expected to be commissioned by President Mnangagwa in January next year.

Construction of the plant commenced in 2016 as the company heeded Government’s call on value addition and beneficiation.

Unki Mine general manager Mr Walter Nemasasi said President Mnangagwa was expected to commission the plant next year.

He, however, said more information regarding the plant would be availed to the public once the plant had been commissioned.

“We are expecting President Mnangagwa to open the plant sometime in January and unfortunately there will be no Press briefings until then,” he said.

Unki Mine Smelting Plant project manager Mr Clifford Mutevhe once told Sunday News Business that all the structural and engineering work for the smelting plant was complete.

The plant was expected to be commissioned in July this year.

Mr Mutevhe said the plant would start operating at full throttle in 2019.

“This is a huge project that the mine is undertaking. All the structural work has been done,” he said.

Mr Mutevhe said the smelting plant, which will consume over 11 meggawatts, would see the company smelting about 623 000 tonnes of platinum concentrate per annum.

Platinum mining companies agreed to set up platinum refineries at their respective mining sites while they have also agreed to construct a single platinum processing plant.

Platinum processing, although requiring a lot of resources and capital, would enable the country to realise more from its minerals as well as curbing repatriation of profits.

In May last year, the Government signed an agreement that would see the construction of a $300 million platinum refinery which will significantly increase platinum export earnings.

The refinery would give Zimbabwe an opportunity to refine its platinum as opposed to the current process of exporting it as predominantly raw mineral.

The total output is thus expected to rise to 0,49 million ounces (moz) in 2026 from 0,42 moz produced thus year.