Redcliff cement firm targets $30m investment

cash stack

Oliver Kazunga/Lovemore Zigara, Business Reporters
REDCLIFF-based cement maker Diamond Cement Company (DCC) is targeting an investment of $30 million in the next two years in the development of its clinker mine project.

The company has already received quality certification from the Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) paving way for it to commence production for the domestic market.

The cement company, which is owned through a Chinese consortium, Livetouch Investments, has invested $20 million into the project after acquiring 100 000 square metres of land from Redcliff Municipality.

In an interview on the sidelines of the just ended Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, DCC chief executive officer Mr Wang Don said they were also looking forward to developing a clinker mine project in Midlands.

“We are looking forward to investing $30 million into clinker mine. It is a project that we expect to start within the next two years,” he said.

The DCC boss said production at the cement plant would start as soon as challenges being faced during the trial run are addressed.

“At the moment we are still doing test runs of the plant so that we can see the maximum time the plant can run without any faults. The products we have been producing during the trial run have been tested and certified by SAZ, which means we can now start to sell our product,” he said.

“We are going to begin production after we overcome all the hurdles that have to do with the test run. Once the challenges we are experiencing during the test run are overcome then we will commission the plant and full scale production begins.”

At full scale production DCC will produce 400 000 tonnes of cement per annum and about 400 workers are expected to be employed.

The cement producer, which presently employs about 160 people would use slag — a by-product of Ziscosteel from smelted iron ore.

Slag is a major component in the manufacturing of Portland cement, which is cement manufactured from chalk and clay, which hardens under water and when hard resembles Portland stone in colour.

DCC is expected to stimulate economic growth in the town, which has suffered massive de-industrialisation since the closure of Ziscosteel in 2008.

The cement manufacturer becomes the fourth major player in the country’s cement sector after Pretoria Portland Cement, Lafarge and Sino Zimbabwe Cement Company.

You Might Also Like

Comments