By Mercy Bofu
Small-scale chrome miners in and around Masvingo will benefit from the establishment of the Zimbabwe Zhongxing Smelting Company which is nearing completion in Mashava.
The project is now nearing completion and is expected to start running by year end.
After completion, the Zimbabwe Zhongxing Smelting Company project, which is worth more than US$70 million, is expected to smelt 50 000 tonnes of chrome per year.
Zimbabwe Zhongxing Smelting Company Administrator Zhang Meng said: “We started construction here in January 2020 and we expect to finish construction by the end of this year. Our capacity after completion is to smelt 50 000 tonnes of chrome per year and currently, construction is now at about 90 percent completion.”
Speaking after touring the project in the company of heads of different government departments and JOC members, Masvingo Minister of Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Honourable Ezra Chadzamira said the project will assist in boosting the province’s Gross Domestic Product.
“This plant is one of the biggest investment projects in Masvingo that will also help boost the province’s Gross Domestic Product and benefit the community immensely in employment,” he said.
The project is also expected to capacitate small scale chrome miners and act as a readily accessible market for their chrome.