The legislator told The Zimbabwean on the sidelines of Sustainable Diamond Mining in Zimbabwe workshop that there was urgent need for government to invest more in the value addition of minerals.
The workshop, which was convened by Zimbabwe Environmental Lawyers Association, was attended by government officials, civic society and parliamentarians from the Mines and Mining Development portfolio committee.
“Value addition is a big debate. We need a lot of investment when it comes to value addition,” said the Guruve South legislator.
He said metal and base metal refinery did not have to be a Zimplats project alone, but a platinum industry project.
“It should not matter whether you are Unki or Zimplats, you should be able to provide your material to get refined. That’s how it works in South Africa,” he said. He cited examples of companies such as Anglo Platinum and Implants in South Africa who owned refineries that refined metal for 10-20 companies not related to them.
“If our own companies go to Rustenburg for their refineries, it is also possible that those in SA can come to Zimbabwe, depending on where the refinery is and the cost of refining. If the cost is advantageous on this side then they can come here,” he said.
Chindori Chininga said there was a need to critically examine new mining companies on how they are going to uplift the Zimbabwean mining sector and economy. “We have to look at all those issues and create an enabling environment that creates more investment.”
Post published in: Business