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Business Reporter

IN what could be “the first of its kind in Southern Africa”, Zimbabwean-based African Chrome Fields says construction is nearly complete at its new state-of-the-art Aluminothermic Smelting Plant in Kwekwe, Midlands Province, which is expected to be opened in the next two months.

The establishment of a technologically advanced chrome beneficiation plant is one of the flagship transformative investments under the Second Republic in the mining sector, which expects to hit a US$12 billion milestone by the end of this year.

Its completion is set to impact positively through ramping up production, increasing employment opportunities, and widening earnings from value-added export growth.

Initially, the new plant is set to produce 300 tonnes of ultra-low-carbon high-grade ferrochrome and later ramp up production to 600 tonnes when at full production, according to the company.

The Aluminothermic Plant creates certain by-products that have economic value themselves and will be sold as a secondary income from the plant.

African Chrome Fields, (ACF), a privately-owned mining company, is one of the biggest chrome miners in the country, with extensive mining operations along the Great Dyke in the Midlands province.

President Mnangagwa once visited the aluminothermic plant in July 2018 where he was briefed that one of its advantages is that it does not require electricity.

Having invested an estimated US$250 million in the country since launching operations in 2014, its new plant represents just the latest milestone in its expansion strategy.

ACF has announced in a latest statement published on its website that its new, ground-breaking aluminothermic smelting factory in Zimbabwe will open its doors in July, after pumping approximately US$40 million investment for the factory alone, group managing director, Mr Zunaid Moti, said.

“The plant is equipped with proprietary state-of-the-art technology, which doesn’t make use of any power for the reduction of chrome ore to ferrochrome.

“The plant will support the company’s mineral beneficiation activities for the benefit of its South African and international clientele, who utilise its high-quality ferrochrome products to produce stainless steel,” he said.

“Our proprietary aluminothermic processes produce ultra-low carbon, high-grade ferrochrome in just a fraction of the time required by traditional methods. It takes approximately two minutes to achieve a process that usually takes in excess of seven hours with zero power in the actual process itself.

“Combined with the quality of our chrome ore, we will soon be producing a superior product than what can be found nearly anywhere else in the world.”

He said the aluminothermic process is also substantially more environmentally friendly than other mining methods, which draw on chemical reductants or fluxes. Put simply, said Mr Moti, this process instead makes use of aluminium and heat to produce metal concentrates – a process, which is not only less electro-power-intensive than conventional methods, but also avoids introducing impurities such as phosphorous and sulphur.

“This process also reduces the time needed to refine chrome to minutes rather than  hours and will help to accelerate land rehabilitation times while minimising our carbon footprint,” he said.

In order to safeguard the project’s intellectual property, Mr Moti said the group refrained from publishing information on the project, which may reveal any trade secrets, preventing the group from establishing a copyright, patent, or proprietary protection.

According to the company, the product’s six-year development involved significant research, investment of  time, and funding, and involved additional investment from South African partners.

“In order to protect the intellectual property of the project, we specifically did not disclose the actual processes with a view of establishing a copyright, patent or any proprietary protection to avoid others from unfairly considering the information and potentially try to replicate it,” Mr Moti said.

The investment is a good opportunity for chrome expansion in Zimbabwe, which is home of the world’s second largest chrome deposits after South Africa, with a major 12 percent share of global reserves.

This chrome is not only of a higher grade than that of international counterparts, but African Chrome Fields’ reserves are also mined from an easily accessible alluvial deposit along the land’s surface, said the company.

Over the past few years, African Chrome Fields has rapidly expanded its operations to include seven chrome processing plants, as well as 19 modular wash plants – each with a capacity of approximately 50 tonnes per hour each, and a total template capacity of approximately 1,000 tonnes per hour.

The company has also invested some R200 million in mineral exploration over the past six years.

The construction for the aluminothermic plant commenced as early as 2016, but experienced severe delays in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and many other challenges in the region and global market.

As such, the company said the new facility will only produce limited tonnage but the price of these low and ultra-low chromium products are substantial.

“The challenge is to ensure that all outputs are closely supervised and impurities well-regulated during production since users of these products are often exceptionally particular about the specifications of the final product,” said Mr Moti.

He said Zimbabwe and African Chrome Fields now have the opportunity to compete with major global players in the sector, notably Germans and Russians who control the global market.

Made from a blend of iron and chrome, ferrochrome is a key ingredient in the production of stainless steel – a metal experiencing increasing demand given its longer lifespan and greater resistance to oxidisation than mild steel.

“While it will operate the plant at 40 percent of its capacity at its inception, African Chrome Fields hopes to gradually increase its production to meet the rising demand for stainless steel,” said Mr Moti.

“Given the country’s abundance of mineral reserves and natural resources, mining is essential to the future of Zimbabwe as a major economic contributor. By localising value-added and beneficiation activities, we hope to ensure that surrounding communities benefit from value-added activities rather than seeing these opportunities and profits funneled overseas.

“As an African business, we are proud to be expanding our operations in Zimbabwe as proof of our commitment to playing a role in supporting its economy and developing supply chains that add value to the region,” said Mr Moti.

Under the US$12 billion mining roadmap, gold is expected to contribute US$4 billion, platinum US$3 billion while chrome, iron, steel diamonds, and coal will contribute US$1 billion.

Lithium is expected to contribute US$500 million while other minerals will contribute US$1,5 billion.

The Government expects that by 2030, the mining industry will be generating upwards of US$20 billion.