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Prosper Ndlovu in Victoria Falls
ZIMBABWE is realising $1,5 billion per year from all its mineral exports which is equivalent to what the country is spending on fuel per year because of lack of beneficiation and value addition, a mining expert said yesterday.In a presentation on the importance of mineral beneficiation and value addition during the ongoing First Ordinary Session of the African Union Conference of Ministers Responsible for Mineral Resource Development here, metallurgy expert and past president of the African Metals Research, Dr Josephat Zimba, called for quick adoption of beneficiation as a long term strategy towards unlocking the regional economic potential.

“Beneficiation and value addition is a bread and butter issue. It’s a matter of life and death and we’ve got to do more to value add our minerals. The problem in Africa is that of poverty in the midst of plenty and that is distressing,” said Dr Zimba.

He said there was a need to unlock value of the resources and have control of the market share.

“Zimbabwe has an import bill of $1,5 billion for fuel, which is similar to the value of mineral exports. This is a joke. It means we’re exporting all minerals just to buy fuel,” said Dr Zimba.

He said it was high time African governments walked the talk on beneficiation issues by coming up with a clear roadmap on implementing the strategy in their economic policies.

Dr Zimba suggested that governments should start putting aside a certain percentage of their GDP to fund beneficiation initiatives.

He said the beneficiation thrust needs to be supported by innovation and adoption of modern technology to meet global trends and enhance competitiveness.

Dr Zimba said Zimbabwe, given its vast coal reserves, should start tapping technology that converts coal to fuel like what is happening in neighbouring South Africa.

“This is an opportunity for a country like Zimbabwe and if we do this we can cut almost $2 billion from our import bill. We need to value add to maximise returns from our resources,” he said.

The country has already set up a green fuel project for blending at the Chisumbanje Ethanol plant, which is set to cut the fuel import bill by $20 million from an estimated $120 million fuel expenditure per month.

Dr Zimba challenged African governments to start working on setting up requisite infrastructure for successful implementation of value addition.

He said huge resources should be channelled towards boosting power generation, a key factor in building a robust beneficiation industry.

Crafting sound policy guidelines, awarding licences to credible players and linking resource allocation to value addition and beneficiation within specified timeframes, are some of the major steps Dr Zimba highlighted as key towards bringing the beneficiation thrust into fruition.

He implored African governments to ensure their targets were measurable and called for involvement and protection of local businesses in tender processes noting that some investors were sabotaging economies by importing virtually every material including ball point pens and tissue paper.

Dr Zimba noted that skills development was a challenge across the African continent and urged governments and the private sector to invest in human capital and knowledge development, a critical ingredient in driving beneficiation imperatives.

“We should start by looking at our own context; consider the sustainability of our ventures and the environment. We need to consider whether or not communities will survive after the lifespan of a mine,” he said.

Dr Zimba said value addition will create jobs for locals and reduce the incidence of civil wars and strife on the continent. He said it will also reverse the export of raw minerals but increase their value.

Participants said the transition from a resource-based economy to a knowledge based-economy was anchored on value addition and beneficiation and required a complete paradigm shift involving all stakeholders.

They challenged higher learning institutions, researchers and the private sector to come on board and play their role alongside governments.