ZCDC to invest $400m by 2025

ZCDC to invest $400m by 2025
Published: 07 June 2018
The Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) plans to invest $400 million under its massive Vision2025 investment blueprint, The Financial Gazette revealed.

ZCDC chief executive officer Morris Mpofu said the investment was expected to improve diamond production from the three million carats expected by end of the year to 10 million carats during the underlined timeframe.

Mpofu lamented that ZCDC came at a time the Chiadzwa diamond resources were trapped in the Red Zone period between 2006 to 2015 shrouded by lack of transparency and accountability, leakages, losses and environmental degradation.

He said following the 2016 to 2017 period, which saw the establishment, consolidation and capitalisation of ZCDC, the State-owned firm was now in its Blue Zone (2018 to 2025) period where it seeks to invest in the mining value chain.

"We are now in the Blue Zone, between 2018 to 2025. Over that period, we are going to invest over $400 million in both exploration and evaluation, mining, processing and marketing. We have projects that have been signed and lined up to ensure that we increase diamond mining production capacity," he said during an All-Stakeholders Diamond Security Conference held recently.

Mpofu said the diamond firm, which is now worth over $250 million, will make available 50 percent of the required investment, while the balance will be sourced from external investors.

"As ZCDC, we expect from this investment of $400 million, that about 50 percent will come from our re-investment earnings from the mining we are doing now and the other $200 million will be sourced externally.

"Because in the period 2016 to 2017, we continue to strengthen our balance sheet and to create an attractive asset for investors. And we are happy that our balance sheet has grown also over the two-year period because of the investment thrust that we have taken, in terms of building the asset value and building the capacity of diamond production. We are now almost over $250 million worth in terms of our value chain, which is a great achievement," he said.

Mpofu said the massive investment will see the commissioning and extension of the conglomerate plant, exploration of Mwenezi (Masvingo) and Chihota (Mashonaland East).

He said the new conglomerate plant had an initial production capacity of 320 000 carats per month and 650 000 carats per month on full capacity.

"If you calculate our annual production for the initial capacity, you get something like 4,8 million carats and our target for 2019 is 4,6 million carats. But if the plant is at full capacity it can produce 650 000 carats per month and if you calculate that per annum, you get about 7,8 million carats. So you can see that the vision we have is on the basis of the investment that is being done to achieve 10 million carats per year," said Mpofu, adding that they project to reach full capacity by January 2019.

ZCDC is sitting on 200 tonnes of ore that can translates into 100 million carats of rough diamonds with an expected lifespan of about 30 years
- fingaz
Tags: ZCDC,

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