The Sunday Mail
Tawanda Musarurwa
South African chrome and platinum group metal (PGM) producer Tharisa Plc says it has begun work on its Salene Chrome project in Zimbabwe after receiving approvals from the Environmental Management Authority (EMA).
The project has the potential to further enhance the economic contribution of Zimbabwe’s chrome sector.
According to data from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, Zimbabwe has the second largest high grade chromium ores in the world after South Africa with reserves of approximately 10 billion tonnes.
In this respect, Zimbabwe has the capacity to meet the Second Republic’s set target of becoming an upper middle income economy by the 2030 on the basis of an effective Ferro-chrome industry.
The country has huge potential to also become a major stainless steel producer that is processed from chrome.
It is estimated that 75 percent of global chrome resources are in South Africa and accordingly that country is the largest chrome concentrate producer.
But Zimbabwe has potential to become a top producer itself.
Giant crystals of up to 1,5 metres have been found on the Great Dyke, which is the hinterlands of the Salene Chrome project.
Last year, Tharisa Plc acquired a 90 percent equity stake in Salene Chrome Zimbabwe, which hold a 9 500 hectare claim in the mineral rich Great Dyke area of Zimbabwe.
“In the last quarter of 2018, Salene Chrome was awarded a development permit from EMA, while the EIA report is being finalised for submission.
“The development permit has enabled Salene Chrome to initiate field work and the exploration trenching programme. The digital terrain mapping and high resolution airborne geophysical survey over the mining location have been completed,” said Tharisa in an update on its Zimbabwe projects.
The group said the geophysical data has been interpreted, with the first 11 trenches having been completed, totalling over 4 000 metres. The trenches have been rehabilitated and the next trenching and pitting targets are being identified.
“The samples from the first trenches have been prepared and logged and sent for assay. The quality assurance and quality control programme is being carried out concurrently with the exploration programme and adheres to industry best practice.”
The South African-based mining group last year said it intends to invest an initial $3, 2 million on the Zimbabwean project.
At the time, Tharisa had a strong cash balance of around US$60 million.
The project specs
Prior to being acquired by the Tharisa Group, Salene Chrome Zimbabwe owned 9 500 hectares of prospective land in the Great Dyke region of Zimbabwe, primarily to focus on the extraction or exploration of the illuvial chromite sands.
The Salene Chrome project also held three special grants under the Zimbabwe Mines and Minerals Act covering the 9 500 hectares on the eastern side of the Great Dyke in Zimbabwe, which entitles it to mine the minerals thereon including illuvial chrome.
A special grant is issued in terms of Chapter 19 of the Zimbabwe Mines and Minerals Act and authorises the holder thereof to carry out mining operations for a specified mineral or minerals (including chrome in this instance), over the specified area for a period of 24 months, with the right of annual renewal on the expiry of such period on 90 days prior application.
And the previous owners of Salene had indicated that intended to apply for the consolidation of the special grant areas into a mining lease area valid for the life of mine.
The local chrome project also said it was also looking to apply to the Government for National Project Status and for the special grant areas to be contained within a proposed Special Economic Zone.
Chrome is mainly used stainless steel production, as a metal coat, in the chemical industry and in metallurgical processes.
Chrome ore production is expected to have a long-term stable demand due to the strong and steady global demand for stainless steel.
In Zimbabwe, chrome is mainly mined along the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe and occurs as seam/strati form deposits. In greenstone belts off the Great Dyke it occurs as podiform structures in serpentinites, for instance, in Zimasco mine on Shurugwi Mashava.
In Mashava chrome is found in greenstone remnants in the Limpopo mobile belt south of Mberengwa.
Chrome also occurs as illuvial deposits in the greenstone areas.
