Lungile Siziba recently in BINGA
The attainment of Vision 2023 of an empowered and prosperous upper middle-income society would be easy if Zimbabwe embarks on the value addition and beneficiation of its mineral resources, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said.
He said this while commissioning Muchesu Coal Mine in Binga, Matabeleland North Province on July 31.
The mine is owned by Contango Holdings from Britain, which has invested US$20 million in the first phase of the project.
Contango holds a 70 percent stake in Muchesu Coal Mine while 30 percent is held by its local partners.
The mine is expected to significantly contribute towards growing the mining sector, which the Government wants to become a US$12 billion industry by year end.
The coal and hydro-carbons subsector is expected to contribute US$1 billion to the US$12 billion mining industry target.
Said President Mnangagwa: “This commissioning ceremony we are gathered to witness today is a milestone achievement towards our quest to attain a US$12 billion mining sector economy by 2023.
“The target of a US$12 billion mining industry was set for achievement through a combination of low hanging fruits or quick-win projects with a medium-term impact, as well as projects with a longer-term impact.
“I believe the attainment of Vision 2030 is achievable if mineral value addition and beneficiation are prioritised.”
The mining sector has been on a growth trajectory since 2017 when the Second Republic led by President Mnangagwa came in.
At the end of 2017, the mining sector generated US$2,7 billion and has been steadily growing to US$5,4 billion last year.
This year, the sector is expected to become a US$12 billion industry, driven by new mining projects especially in the lithium and coal subsectors, while most existing mining houses have also been expanding their operations.
The President said since 2017, Zimbabwe has exported coal worth US$2,07 billion, while the entire mining sector recorded over US$20 billion in exports.
“Therefore, it is pleasing to note that we are gathered here for a milestone towards sustainable development of the coal subsector,” he said.
Coal remains key in Zim energy sector
The coal sector is important to Zimbabwe’s electricity sector as it feeds a key raw material to thermal stations in Hwange, Bulawayo, Munyati and Harare.
Not many financial institutions are presently keen to finance electricity generation from coal on the back of lobbying by climate activists, but Europe has reverted to electricity generation from coal after facing challenges with getting gas from Russia after imposing sanctions on the Eastern European country.
And President Mnangagwa believes the geopolitical tensions in Europe provide scope for investments in thermal energy.
Zimbabwe has invested US$1,4 billion into the expansion of Hwange Power Station where Units 7 and 8 have been added, producing a combined 600MW, which have considerably reduced load shedding across the country.
The funds were obtained from China following President Mnangagwa’s five-day State visit in 2018.
The funds had remained unreleased by China for over a decade, and it took the coming in of the Second Republic for the funds to be unlocked.
President Mnangagwa said if Zimbabwe was to attain energy sufficiency, thermal power would still be an important part of the national energy mix.
Muchesu Coal Mine has plans to produce coke through installing coke batteries, which process coking coal into coke for the industrial and ferro alloy industries.
The coke production sector has been growing commendably since 2017, with coke exports rising by 327 percent from US$39 million in 2020 to US$166,4 million last year, after coke producing firms expanded their operations.
President Mnangagwa said the expansion of operations by coke producing companies demonstrated that the “Zimbabwe is open for business” mantra was paying dividends.
He said strategies and policy interventions by the Second Republic had led to the major successes recorded in the mining sector.
“This is evidenced by a total of US$20,2 billion in cumulative exports that have been realised from the mining sector since 2018,” he said.
“This project is, therefore, central to the socio-economic development of the country. This signifies that the New Dispensation is committed to developing every part of the country leaving no one and no place behind.”
Mine project joins long list of Binga developments
The Muchesu Coal project comes at a time when the Government under President Mnangagwa has embarked on a massive transformation of Binga, which has seen the area having the Binga Technical College, a Nurses Training School whose land for construction has been identified, and a Civil Registry building being completed after it was started in 2004 and later abandoned.
President Mnangagwa also promised to donate an ambulance to Binga District Hospital, but ended up over fulfilling the pledge after donating two, one of which is a state-of-the-art that is fitted with an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) such that a medical person can be busy attending to a patient on the go.
The Binga Hospital Mortuary has also been expanded to carry 12 bodies from five.
At one stage, a traffic accident occurred in Binga, killing five people and the mortuary had two uncollected bodies, and storage of all the bodies became a challenge.
Just recently, another road traffic accident occurred killing five people, and the expansion of the mortuary came in handy as the bodies were all stored properly.
Other developments in Binga include the modernisation of the Airstrip, which was done by the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA), formerly DDF.
The upgrade has allowed more small aircraft to land, a development that is now promoting tourism.
A border post has been set up to allow people in the area to cross the Zambezi River into Zambia while chiefs, women and youths have been personally empowered by President Mnangagwa after he handed over fishing rigs so they can make money for themselves while also improving nutrition.
Other developments such as the construction of clinics, additional classroom blocks at schools and roads have been funded through devolution funds set up by the Government beginning in 2019.
Under the Presidential Borehole Drilling Scheme, many boreholes have been drilled in Binga, bringing development that has never been witnessed in the area since Independence in 1980.
