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Senior Business Reporter
ZIMBABWE has cleared 25,000 tonnes of chrome ore stockpiles that accumulated over the years following a ban on raw chrome exports, an official said yesterday. In 2011, government announced that it was banning raw chrome exports to promote beneficiation. At the time of the ban, small-scale chrome producers had 25,000 tonnes of the mineral’s stockpiles, which they were not able to export.

Speaking by telephone from Harare yesterday, Zimbabwe Artisanal and Small-scale Mining Council (ZASMC) president Wellington Takavarasha said the stockpiles were absorbed by the Zimbabwe Mining and Smelting Company (Zimasco).

“The stockpiles were recently cleared after Zimasco started buying the mineral from the small-scale chrome producers,” he said.
Following the chrome ore export ban, said Takavarasha, a number of producers had abandoned chrome mining.

“The number of small-scale chrome miners has gone down significantly because of the export ban, selling chrome to local companies such as Zimasco is not viable as the price is not competitive compared to exporting,” he added.

Takavarasha could not disclose the latest price Zimasco used to buy the mineral.
Three years ago, Zimasco enjoyed a monopoly as the sole smelter of chrome ore in the country.

The entity was accused of fleecing small-scale producers of the mineral as it bought chrome at $60 per tonne compared to $150 a tonne on the international market.
Mines and Mining Development Minister Walter Chidhakwa is on record as saying the country was facing a “huge” external demand for chrome ore, renewing pressure on the government to relax a law that bans exports of the unprocessed mineral.

He said opening a window for ore exports when the government has said beneficiation is critical was tantamount to sending a message that there is no need for value addition and thus might discourage investors willing to go into value addition.

The chrome ore export ban has resulted in some producers, such as Zimbabwe Alloys Ltd, shutting down mining operations completely because of the country’s inadequate smelting capacity.

It is hoped Zimbabwe will continue seeking investors to build chrome-smelting capacity and negotiations are in progress with some to establish smelting plants.
A Chinese company, Afrochine Smelting Ltd, has started constructing a chrome smelter in the country with annual capacity of 50,000 metric tonnes.

Ferrochrome, produced in smelters using chrome ore, is used to make stainless steel.