Story by Tamuka Charakupa
GOVERNMENT’S rural industrialisation drive has received a major boost in Mashonaland West province, with a new platinum mining player, Bravura, billed to set up operations in Zvimba and Chegutu districts.
In a media briefing after presenting the company’s project scope to stakeholders in the province, Bravura Holdings Zimbabwe Managing Director, Mr Ojoologuson Bhenga revealed that feasibility studies of the project have been completed.
“We are a mining conglomerate, and we are pan-African with a footprint in about fourteen African countries. As a business, we are committed to ensuring that we have a viable project in the years to come. And already, we’ve invested heavily in the project having completed our feasibility study, our exploration job and we are currently at a developmental phase,” he said.
Although the cost of the project, timelines, and employment opportunities were not disclosed during the introductory meeting, the company says it is aware of the needs of the people and has since developed a comprehensive corporate social responsibility framework.
“In terms of our social responsibility, we’ve made our commitment to the Minister that everywhere we operate as a business, we are Africans, and so we understand the needs of Africa. We play in the terrain of Africa, so everywhere we operate in Africa, we are mindful of the need, you know, to invest heavily in the well-being of our people. Already, as a business, what we have done is to ensure that our staff strength is ninety-five percent locals, just to show our demonstration that we are committed to investing in the locals and uplifting the people,” he added.
Mashonaland West Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Honourable Marian Chombo assured the investor of government support under the open-for-business mantra.
“Mashonaland West is known for its mining and agricultural activities. The Bravura project will create jobs for our children and increase platinum production soon. We expect to generate more revenue through these projects, which will improve service delivery in our rural areas. In 2023, we ranked third with a GDP of ZWL27.8 billion. We are above all rural provinces, with only Bulawayo and Harare Metropolitan provinces above us. We expect that the success of projects like Bravura will enable us to improve our production and surpass other provinces. The main goal of Devolution is for our councils to increase their revenue so that the lives of rural people can be comparable to those in urban areas, especially in terms of service delivery,” she said.
Meanwhile, Bravura’s Kamativi Mine is earmarked to produce an annual output of 30 thousand tonnes of spodumene concentrate, a lithium-bearing mineral.
The Zimbabwean government is a minority partner in the project, holding a 40% stake.
Bravura Holdings is owned by Nigerian tycoon Benedict Peters.
