HWANGE-based
Although tungsten is not among the major contributors towards the US12 billion mining milestone by 2023, the Government is committed to making sure the over 60 mineral deposits, including newly discovered coal and gas, contribute to economic development and drive the country to an Upper Middle Income economy by 2030.
The mining industry in a key economic enabler that contributes about 20 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) and is critical to the growth of other sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing.
The Tungsten venture is a partnership between the Government and
Premier holds 49 percent interest in
The NIEEF has in the past year been re-evaluating its ongoing involvement in the project. The mine is located in Dinde, about 20km outside Hwange and will do both open cast and tunnel mining.
In an interview on the sidelines of the recent Chamber of Mines annual conference in
"There has been lack of activity but it's coming back. Discussions are taking place with shareholders and we expect that by next year it will be up and running as the investor is already there," said Minister Chitando.
Two years ago,
Tungsten mine is relatively small but has very high-grade tungsten occurrence.
Tungsten mining will add to several other mineral exploration activities particularly coal taking place around Hwange.
There is huge capacity on the coal side particularly in Hwange and
Dinson Colliery recently started producing 150 000 tonnes per annum and is working on a second battery, which will produce a similar amount of coke while the company has also started civil works for a 1 million tonne per annum coke battery.
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