via Russians plan $3bln Zim platinum mine.New Zimbabwe 07/06/2014
A CONSORTIUM of Russian Vi Holding, state defence conglomerate Rostec and Vneseconombank (VEB) will explore world’s second largest platinum field Darwendale with a view to setting up a US$3 billion mine.
Plans to establish what would be Zimbabwe’s biggest platinum mine were revealed a Russian business daily last week, citing Rostec chief executive Sergei Chemezov’s letter to President Vladimir Putin.
The platinum field in the Darwendale valley has proven reserves of 19 tonnes of platinum and 755 tonnes of platinum group metals, including palladium, rhodium, gold, nickel and copper.
After the mining and processing complex is launched, the production capacity can amount to 600,000 ounces of platinum annually, making it the largest in the country.
By the end of the year the consortium plans to finish exploration works and confirm the field’s reserves under international standards, Kommersant reported on Thursday.
The construction of the first stage of the mining and processing complex is slated for 2015, while investments in the construction amount to $500 million and total project investments are around $3 billion.
Zimplats, owned by the world’s second largest platinum producer, Impala Platinum of South Africa, is currently Zimbabwe’s biggest miner, producing 140,000 annually with plans to bump it to 270,000 next year.
South African miners, Anglo American Platinum, the world’s number one platinum miner, and Aquarius Platinum also have local operations.
COMMENTS
And they are going to invest all this money so once it is operational the goons can claim 51%. Get real, whilst the mineral resources of the country are vast nobody is going to invest a cent whilst zanu is still In power
Here we go again! Another mining project that will not see the light of day in Zimbabwe. Both the Russian and Zimbabwe mining conglomerates have been hiding their exploration programmes and who can now believe they have just discovered the platinum and its estimated reserves? How can one have more platinum group metals (PGMs) reserves than platinum, when the PGM ores are derived from the platinum ore reserves themselves. The figures given are suspicious and so are the claims. ZANU pf government would like us to believe our Zimbabwe is now able to get mining investments when that likelihood is now remote, when in fact, it has prevailing adverse political and economic environments. Zimbabwe needs a new direction in order to fully exploit its resources and not depend on outside sharks to rescue its myriad problems, that are, needless to say, self-created.
Well “proven reserves of 19 tons” only but will produce 600000 ounces (nearly 19 tons) annually….the numbers don’t add up…
Jay , you so right. They will pay some Russian mafia dons to come to Harare and sign up some fake deal in front of Mugabe and the press like they have done with this fake EU tourism organisation. Lord help us.
Pasi ne Zanu.
A scam on both sides. Rostec’s Chemezov wants to get Russian government money and put it into the black hole of Zimbabwe – half of the money will be stolen before it even reaches Zimbabwe, Chemezov has done it before. The other half will be stolen already in Zim. Putin and Mugabe created two regimes which are very similar. Their cronies have full pockets and the people get nothing
It will never ever happen. Desperate zanupf propaganda
If Russia if coming in to exploit the desperate situation Mugabe is in then they must know that whatever deal they sign with the Mugabe regime will not be honoured by future governments!
Wilbert
No one is coming; its just lies, lies and lies again. How many announcements of these big projects have you heard in the last ten years and how many of them have come on stream?
I have since lost count of the number of proposed Chinese projects since the look east mantra started gaining ground.
Each day that passes, the Zims keep sinking deeper and deeper into poverty.
But the claims of billion dollar investments never seem to end!!
We have plenty of minerals in Zim but the government is killing us! Oh Lord help Zim
good news