Dorowa Mine expected to churn out fertilisers this May
DOROWA Mine is expected to produce fertilisers this May, a development expected to reduce government import bill, Senate members heard this Thursday. This follows the capitalisation of the fertiliser producing mine by Mutapa Investment Fund (MIF) to the tune of US$5.3 million end of last year to revive Zimbabwe’s sole phosphate producer and increase fertiliser […] The post Dorowa Mine expected to churn out fertilisers this May appeared first on NewZimbabwe.com.
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DOROWA Mine is expected to produce fertilisers this May, a development expected to reduce government import bill, Senate members heard this Thursday.
This follows the capitalisation of the fertiliser producing mine by Mutapa Investment Fund (MIF) to the tune of US$5.3 million end of last year to revive Zimbabwe’s sole phosphate producer and increase fertiliser production.
An additional US$11 million is planned to be released for full resuscitation and to boost fertiliser manufacturing capacity to restore local production of phosphate, a key component in fertiliser, reducing reliance on costly imports.
Giving oral answers to questions without notice to Mashonaland East Sen. Mike Bimha, Mines deputy minister Caleb Makwiranzou said: “For farmers to be productive in the agricultural sector, the country needs fertilisers.
“Fertilisers are like salt in our soils. The government realised that it spends a lot of money importing fertilisers, so it decided we need to inject recapitalise Dorowa to manufacture them.
“Dorowa mine was then put under the Mutapa Investment Fund and they are working together and the mine is close, but we expect it to start churning out fertilisers around May this year,” Makwiranzou said.
The deputy minister’s response came after Bimha sought clarity on Dorowa’s capacity to satisfy local fertiliser requirements.
“Can Dorowa be given the requisite resources to ensure that the locally available phosphate is used in manufacturing fertilisers, so that we stop importing fertilisers, which push up prices, affecting us as consumers of agricultural products?” Bimha said.
The deputy minister told the Senate Acting President that Dorowa Mine had received funding from the Mutapa Investment Fund to retool and re-equip so they could start manufacturing the commodity.
“Yes, we need 450 tonnes of phosphate, so they will start manufacturing it this year. They expect to assist wheat farmers.”
Another member wanted to know if the mine would still be in a position to produce 150,000 tonnes of phosphate per year for the downstream industries when production starts.
“When are we likely to jerk up production to be close to those quantities? Is the effort that you have put in it together with Mutapa able to resuscitate production at Dorowa Mine to the extent of 150,000 tonnes per year?” Sen. Sesil Zvidzai said.
Makwiranzou replied: “The percentage from the ore that comes out for phosphate is just 10%. The rest which you are talking about are supposed to be pumped out.
“They used to have one pump only. So now, they bought another pump, which means they are now able to pump 24/7 for the rest of the year and can only stop during maintenance.
“Indeed, we expect to reach those levels being referred to by the Hon. Senator,” he added.
The post Dorowa Mine expected to churn out fertilisers this May appeared first on NewZimbabwe.com.
