MARTIN MAWAYA
Gweru based ferrochrome mining company Jinan Group plans to invest over $75 million into a solar power generation plant to plug the energy deficit and promote clean energy.
The Chinese owned company, which produces high-carbon ferrochrome, silicon chrome, and low-carbon ferrochrome, aims to install a solar-powered plant in two phases.
In the first phase, the firm will install a 20-megawatt solar plant at its factory and intends to acquire land from Gweru City Council for an additional 30 megawatts.
“The first solar project will produce a total of 50 megawatts at a total cost of $25 million,” said Jinan finance manager, Munyaradzi Matanyaire, during a government-sanctioned provincial media tour.
He added that the equipment for Jinan 20-megawatt phase-one solar power plant is currently enroute from China and is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of this year.
Additionally, Matanyaire said the mining company will embark on a 100-megawatt solar power plant at the Chessa substation, located 26 km outside Gweru, at a total cost of $50 million.
The move to establish a solar plant is aimed at assisting Zimbabwe in reducing its carbon emissions and alleviating crippling blackouts.
Matanyaire emphasized that the projects aim to harness power for production while increasing local employment opportunities and fostering innovation in the mining industry.
The solar plant, he said, “will help stabilize electricity tariff increases, address the energy deficit, support the country’s economic growth, and enhance environmental sustainability.”
Currently, the chrome firm operates at 80% capacity, producing 65,000 tonnes per annum, with plans to invest an additional $20 million to improve one of its furnaces for low-carbon ferrochrome production.
“As far as our furnaces are concerned, we want to make improvements on one of them to produce ferrosilicon, which is an input for low-carbon ferrochrome,” Matanyaire noted, adding that current prices for high-carbon ferrochrome are depressed in the market.
He pointed out that demand for low-carbon ferrochrome is high, with favorable prices, adding that the equipment for the low-carbon ferrochrome furnace has already been manufactured in China, awaiting logistical processes for shipment.
Jinan has a workforce of over 500 people and expects to add another 60 employees once the solar plant is operational.
The firm has five furnaces but is currently running only four, as one is undergoing upgrades.
