Kuvimba Mining House wins bid to resuscitate ZISCO Steel

THE GOVERNMENT has approved that Kuvimba Mining House (Kuvimba) be engaged as the Investment partner for the resuscitation of Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (ZISCO Steel).

In a post cabinet briefing on Tuesday, Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Jorum Gumbo said the government had intensified plans to resuscitate ZISCO Steel after identifying the local mining giant to revive the multi-million-dollar Redcliff plant which has been lying idle for over a decade.

Nine prospective investors had expressed interest to partner ZISCO Steel.

Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Jorum Gumbo

“Cabinet is informing the nation that due process was undertaken for the identification of an investor to partner Government in the operationalisation of ZISCO Steel. The standard process to find an investor/partner for ZISCO-Steel was undertaken under guidance from the Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency (ZIDA) and incorporated inputs from the State Enterprises Restructuring Agency (SERA),” Gumbo said.

ZISCO has been looking for new investors in a bid to revive the firm, which at its peak employed over 8 000 people in Redcliff and Kwekwe.

The firm, considered to be strategic to the country’s economic revival, stopped production in 2008 owing to operational and financial challenges. Several efforts to resuscitate Zisco have failed over the years.

“Initially, nine prospective investors expressed interest, and after a review by the Executive Management team, four bidders were shortlisted. Following further, due diligence, the bidders were reduced to three. Out of the three, Kuvimba Mining House was recommended. Accordingly, Cabinet approved that Kuvimba Mining House be engaged as the Investment partner for the resuscitation of ZISCO Steel,” he said.

In 1942, the government formed the Rhodesia Iron and Steel Commission, a statutory body which took over the steel works. In 1946, a small plant was constructed at Redcliff and commenced production in 1948. Between 1948 and 1956, Zisco gradually expanded and a year later, the Rhodesia Iron and Steel Company was formed followed by an expansion programme, which saw the commissioning of modern blast furnaces and installation of the first coke oven battery.

The expansion of the plant continued until 1975 when blast furnace four was commissioned, bringing steel works capacity to one million tonnes of liquid steel per year. In the 1990s, operations at Zisco started deteriorating while mining costs at Buchwa Mine sharply rose, forcing the company to develop Ripple Creek Mine for the supply of iron ore to the blast furnaces.

“Kuvimba Mining House is a reputable player in the mining and metals sector, and has previously been involved in the Cases in point are the recent resuscitation of Jena Gold Mine in Midlands Province and Shamva Gold Mines in Mashonaland Central Province, a process which has resulted in the remmittance of dividend to Treasury,” said Gumbo.