Zimbabwe’s ferrochrome miners agree to build power plants
Zimbabwe’s ferrochrome miners, the nation’s biggest electricity consumers, have agreed to build their own power plants over the next two years as the government seeks to balance energy demand.
Under the agreement, ferrochrome producers will in the meantime pay electricity tariffs that are little more than half the rate charged to other mining companies, according to state power utility Zesa Holdings.
The deal will ensure the long-term sustainability of the energy-intensive sector, according to John Musekiwa, chief executive officer of Sinosteel’s Zimbabwe unit, the country’s biggest ferrochrome miner. The company known as Zimasco is targeting power output of 300 MW by 2026, he said.
“Our government’s strategy to move toward green energy solutions in the near term is well understood and the timelines agreed to with regards the construction of the power plants reflects that,” Musekiwa wrote in response to questions from Bloomberg News.
Zimbabwe’s energy ministry expects power demand to surge to 3 000 MW by 2026, with the bulk of the electricity being consumed by mining companies. The country currently generates about 1 400 MW to 1 500 MW of power, with any shortfall plugged by imports from neighboring countries.
Demand from the mining industry is expected to climb to more than 500 MW this year, from 450 MW in 2023, on the back of expansion projects and new entrants, according to the Chamber of Mines.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Showroom
SmartMine IoT has been developed with the mining industry in mind, to provides our customers with powerful business intelligence and data modelling...
VISIT SHOWROOM
The SAIMM started as a learned society in 1894 after the invention of the cyanide process that saved the South African gold mining industry of the...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
