Maravi

(TALKZIMBABWE) Mining companies urged to construct refinery plants

Mining companies urged to construct refinery plants
Posted by By Professor Tshuma at 3 May, at 17 : 19 PM Print

VALUE Addition on minerals will benefit the country if miners operating in the country could construct refineries, a senior Government official has said.

In an interview with The People’s Voice Business, Mines and Mining Development Minister, Obert Mpofu, said mining companies operative in the country should assist in the construction of refinery plants so that mineral value-addition is achieved.

He said the country was losing a lot of money as it was exporting raw minerals which when refined would produce several minerals.

“Because the country is losing a lot of money through export of raw minerals, we are appealing to the miners in the country to construct refinery plants for several minerals as this would increase government revenue inflows as the minerals would be sold independently than as raw,” he said.

He commended a move by Zimplats Mine to construct a platinum refinery plant that will see the mineral being refined in the country than exporting it as raw to South Africa where it will be sold cheaper than after refining it.

Mpofu said currently the country has no platinum refinery plants and the platinum from Zimplats and Mimosa was being exported as raw.

“We welcome the deal from Zimplats to erect a platinum refinery plant in the country as this will help in the value addition.

“Currently the country has no platinum refinery plants and this is costing the country because we export cheap raw minerals but when buying products after processing, they will be expensive because they would have done more in refining and processing the minerals into products,” said Mpofu.

He said the ban on exports of raw chrome was always there, but Government had reached a compromise sometime with small scale miners who wanted to boost their productivity because they had no capital so they had to export their minerals as raw.

Mpofu said the country has enough smelters such that chrome cannot continue to be exported as raw unless if government has to sit down again with the sector to give another short space to export it as raw.

“The ban on export of raw chrome has always been there but we relaxed the regulation after consultations with small scale miners who appealed to us as government to export the mineral as raw,” he said.

Mimosa is export its raw platinum which has deposits of other minerals as gold among others.

Labels: OBERT MPOFU, OIL, VALUE ADDITION, ZIMPLATS

posted by MrK @ 1:47 AM