Story by Tapiwa Machemedze
CANTERBURY Mining Company in Shamva is on a growth trajectory, producing an average of 45 kilogrammes of gold per month, a feat the firm attributes to Zimbabwe’s open-for-business policy and growing investor confidence under the Second Republic.
The mine’s open pit is a hive of activity, with workers pushing to meet monthly targets in the scorching Shamva heat. Together with its Zvishavane operations, Canterbury now employs more than 900 workers, the majority drawn from surrounding communities.
“I have been here six years. I see a bright future. Where we are and where we’re going, we see a lot of light. There are a lot of things being put in place. Many people in this place are now all employed, and new employees are only coming from outside,” driver Mudadisi Chiperevere said.
In a traditionally male-dominated industry, women are increasingly being empowered and given equal opportunities at Canterbury’s Shamva mine.
“We are happy they have managed to establish a mining industry here, and they are able to employ us as ladies. We were looked down upon in the mining industry, but we are now able to work here, where there is a harsh environment, but we are protected by management,” Stores Assistant, Vekezela Mangwaira noted.
Canterbury Mining Company Secretary, Mr Samuel Rusike, credited the company’s growth to the government’s open-for-business policy and investor confidence.
“What you are seeing on this plant is a response to the call by the President, Dr Emmerson Mnangagwa, to say Zimbabwe is open for business. That is when our major shareholder, who is based in the Netherlands, decided to invest in Zimbabwe and found this plant as a landing area.
“We changed it from a custom mill to a commercial enterprise that you are now seeing. We do 100 tonnes per hour crushing ore, and in terms of throughput processing at the ball mill, we are now doing 20 tonnes an hour. We have a CIP plant, which means we process between 13 000 and 15 000 tonnes per month of gold ore,” he said.
To boost production, the company is building a new crusher to increase output to 40 tonnes per hour, which will enable the processing of 30 000 tonnes of ore monthly.
This expansion is expected to double gold output to approximately 100 kilograms per month.
Due to the conducive operating environment, the gold mine is conducting exploration in Zvishavane with the intention of building a bigger plant that will expand operations.
