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Zimbabwe Mining and Smelting Company (Zimasco) in Kwekwe .

Patrick Chitumba Midlands Bureau Chief
SOUTH Africa-based company — Portnex — is investing $12 milion into chrome mining in a deal that is likely to result in the revival of struggling Zimasco.

In an interview during Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s tour of Kwekwe industries yesterday, Portnex official, Frikkie Laubscher said they have since commissioned two furnaces at Zimasco after entering into a leasing agreement with the ferrochrome producing giant.

Portnex is leasing section B of Zimasco and is paying rentals for use of the furnaces and other facilities offered by Zimasco.

Laubscher said they were working towards producing over 900 tonnes of ferrochrome per year as a result of the new cash injection.

“Right now we’ve invested $3 million into this project. Overall we’re pouring in $12 million into the project. By August we want to commission furnace number one,” he said.

Zimasco chief executive officer John Musekiwa said good times were rolling at the once troubled company.

He said they had leased section B to Portnex, a company he said was paying them $5 million annually in rentals.

“Our deal with Portnex is worth $5 million annually and we took that route as one of the bankable solutions to bring life to our company,” he said.

Musekiwa said Zimasco had also reduced the salary backlog of its 600 workers.

He said they would also commission another furnace soon as a way of bringing back the company to its glory days.

Musekiwa said they had also heeded the government’s calls to cede chrome claims they were holding.

“We’ve ceded about 22,000 hectares of chrome fields in line with the government directive,” he said.

The South African company is one of many firms that have shown confidence in the country’s economy in recent years.