ZMDC embarks on copper exploration in Mhangura

Oliver Kazunga

Senior Business Reporter

THE Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) and its investing partners, Eastern Asia, operating as Zhijiu Mining, a Chinese firm, plan to embark on a US$1 million exploration programme to develop a new copper mine in Mhangura.

Mhangura Copper Mine, which is based in Mashonaland West province, was closed in 2000 after depletion of ores.

But operations resumed as a tailings dump project three years ago, when ZMDC and Eastern Asia entered into a strategic partnership where US$10 million was injected in the acquisition of a processing plant and development of the project in two phases.

The tailings dump project, whose lifespan is five years, is producing 450 tonnes of copper concentrates per month and the product is shipped to China.

Copper is a versatile metal with numerous applications due to its unique properties.

It is used in the electrical and electronic sectors, for instance, in the production of electrical wires and circuits, transformers and switch-gears, as well as telecommunications equipment and electric vehicles.

Furthermore, in industrial and manufacturing industries, copper is used to produce plumbing and piping systems, heat exchangers and radiators, while the metal also plays a significant role in the energy and renewable energy sectors, among others.

In an interview, ZMDC managing director Mr Blessed Chitambira said the US$10 million that was injected into the tailings dump project had been exhausted and on account of the five-year lifespan of the initiative, focus is now on US$1 million exploration work around Mhangura.

“In terms of the lifespan of the tailings project, our initial estimate was five years and so far, we have gone almost three years now into that project. So, we are expecting to go into another two or three years before we start a new copper mine, whose exploration requires US$1 million.

“At the moment, we are basically looking at doing exploration in areas around Mhangura and most of the funding for that exercise will be generated internally because operations are running at the mine through the tailings project,” he said.

At its peak, in the 1990s, the mining concern, once the lifeblood of the Mhangura Town Board, employed about 3 000 workers, producing 2 000 tonnes of copper concentrate per month.

Through the tailings project, Mhangura currently employs about 100 people.

Mr Chitambira said when a new copper mine is opened, it is anticipated not to be as big as the old one because most of the claims at Mhangura are smaller than those that existed before.

“We are not talking of a bigger mine because most of the claims are now small in Mhangura, so we are not looking at increasing labour significantly.

“Mhangura used to be a big mine, one of the biggest mines in the country, employing nearly 3 000 people,” he said.

The mining industry is one of Zimbabwe’s economic mainstays, accounting for over 75 percent of national export earnings, led by gold, platinum and diamond.

Under President Mnangagwa’s leadership, the Second Republic has prioritised the growth and development of the mining sector, facilitating the opening of new mines and reopening of closed ones, while driving the expansion of existing ones.