Zimplats empowering locals including women

Zimplats, the country’s biggest platinum mine, scaled up capital expenditure over the past year as part of its US$1.8 billion expansion plan. But how much of this was spent locally?

In the financial year to June, Zimplats spent US$270.3 million on capital projects, up from US$159.1 million in 2021. 

These projects included developing a new mine, Mupani, and upgrading Bimha Mine to replace Rukodzi, Ngwarati and Mupfuti mines. 

The company is also building a new concentrator and an expanded smelter, which will advance the company’s value-addition push.

In total, Zimplats’ discretionary procurement spending was US$552.5 million for the past year, a 31% increase from US$423 million. 

Of this, local spending was US$321.4 million, which is 58% of the overall spending for FY2022 and above Zimplats’ target of 50%. The rest, 42%, came from imports.

Beyond larger local suppliers, Zimplats says it is developing smaller firms to help them supply the mine’s operations. 

The company does this under a programme it calls the local enterprise development (LED) programme. Currently, 22 small to medium enterprises make up LED.

By June 2022, Zimplats had spent US$54.9 million on paying the LEDs, a 37% increase from FY2021 spending of US$39.8 million. 

Since 2013, when the programme started, Zimplats says it has spent US$341.3 million in procurement from the LEDs.

Among the LED companies are four led by women; Turf Brick Moulders, Telstone Trading, The Brooke Chemist and Dostaro Investments.

In November last year, Turf Brick opened a masonry plant at Turf in Ngezi, and its automated plant produced three million bricks for the Zimplats Turf housing project.

Turf Brick was recently able to buy equipment such as 380HP Hohan truck for haulage of quarry dust, L39B3 Shantui front-end loader, a 7-ton truck for delivery of bricks and two utility vehicles.-NewZWire

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