Mr Kazembe stands in front of a processor at his Rubwe Silica Mine in Mhondoro
Farai Kuvirimirwa Features Writer
GROWING up in the rural Mhondoro, Mashonaland West province, would not have borne many surprises or changes for Nobert Kazembe.
Here, as in other rustic parts of the world, life is usually an unbroken monotony mired in poverty and want.
So Kazembe would watch, as from another world, trucks and machinery troll up and down the tarmac road linking the big mine close by and its plants and the rest of the world.
The sophistication and the productivity enchanted Kazembe, yet his lot was characterised by tending a few cows and goats which mostly belonged to his parents while, later on, a Renault R12 station wagon vehicle was to become his most prized possession.
Then a new era dawned.
Kazembe’s homestead, which sits atop vast deposits of silica, a mineral used in the refinery process of platinum, became a target for Zimplats, Zimbabwe’s biggest platinum miner.
“I grew up on my homestead not knowing it was situated on top of wealth,” Kazembe told The Herald recently.
“I was approached by Zimplats which said they wanted silica and I decided to supply it to them. We used silica in our youthful days on catapults not knowing, that was the real wealth,” he gushed.
He then applied for a mining licence at the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, which he obtained without a hassle. Thus began the story of Rubwe Silica Mine. The silica he mines is used in the refining process as a flux in the converting stage of the smelting process at Zimplats Mine in Mhondoro-Ngezi.
“We mine six to 16-millimetre stones and big ones are not required. The actual size can be obtained considering we have crushers which can reduce them to the required size.
“Our main job is to excavate the stones and select the ones required.
“Our daily production is set at 30-90 tonnes which is favourable considering there is a monthly demand of between 400-700 tonnes by the mine.
“We only concentrate on silica and have not tried to venture onto other minerals. Our main hindrances are banks which are not flexible considering requirements when you want to borrow money so that you can boost production and reduce costs,” said Kazembe.
Kazembe said the mine is in need of screeners, a front-end loader and tipper trucks because they were currently hiring them from different companies.
“Hiring machinery leaves us with little profits but we are grateful of the licence granted to us by the Ministry of Mines and the indigenisation and empowerment drive championed in the Zanu-PF manifesto.
“I never thought we would have such a share on the national cake because Zimplats used to get the silica from a white miner and now they considered it important to rope in indigenous and black miners, which is wonderful,” he said.
“We sell a tonne of silica for US$48 before tax deductions and what we get has enabled me to employ at least 15 people depending on the workload at a given time,” he said.
Kazembe, conscious of the environmental impact of his venture, revealed he was planning to return the residual soil and plant indigenous trees on the mine as way to reclaim the land.
He laments the lack of electricity which would boost operations since they were mostly relying on diesel generators. “Zesa has since given us a US$30 000 quotation for them to avail electricity which is quite a lot. Banks have not been helpful as they are refusing to avail loans to us,” he said.
Now Kazembe believes is the time for the world witness his rags to riches story and the fruits of the indigenisation and economic empowerment programme that is being implemented by Government.
“My wish is for President Mugabe to come and see what we are doing and things have gone for the better after the indigenisation drive.
“I used to drive a Renault R12 station wagon but I have since abandoned it for a Mercedes-Benz E Class which I never thought I would drive one day,” he said.
Kazembe said he has since diversified and ventured into agriculture where he rears cattle, goats, chickens among other animals.
He farms, under a drip irrigation system, cabbages, potatoes, tomatoes, maize and spinach which he sells locally and at markets in Harare and the neighbouring Chegutu.
Kazembe’s story dovetails into the empowerment agenda of Zimplats.
In an interview, Zimplats head of corporate affairs Ms Busi Chindove said the company was anticipating into empowering local raw material suppliers in the next five years to the tune of US$2,5 million.
“The investment will be far beyond that in skills transfer and capacity development.
“All small-scale miners receiving assistance from the company are also receiving training in safety and environmental management, to ensure safe and sustainable operations.
“This includes the use of personal protective equipment and clothing.
“We have availed significant assistance in capacity development relating to the process of mining, and systems and procedures to ensure the efficient operation of the business to Kazembe.
“Furthermore, through his earnings he has been empowered to invest in sustainable horticulture and associated irrigation equipment,” she said.
Ms Chindove hailed Kazembe on employing a number of people within his mining and his agricultural operations.
She said the company had availed similar assistance to a female miner of Silica in Chakari.
“In an effort to ensure a gender balance, the company is also assisting a lady miner who is mining silica in Chakari who is receiving assistance similar to that which is being rendered to Mr Kazembe.”
She said assistance being given to Mr Kazembe and other local enterprise development projects is part of an ongoing programme being run by Zimplats to contribute to economic turnaround through support of SMEs and assisting them to grow into sustainable business enterprises.
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