By Blessings Chidakwa
Platinum giant Zimplats will embark on livestock production at its mines and is also planning to establish a stock feed processing company in Mhondoro-Ngezi.
Stock feed will also be grown by locals as part of the mining giant’s empowerment programme.
Zimplats spokesperson Mrs Busi Chindove revealed the developments during the recently held Mashonaland West Devolution and Business Conference held in Chinhoyi recently adding that these were part of her company’s diversified projects linked to their operations.
“l would want to single out a project we are currently working on, a livestock project aimed at production of quality beef. What we are trying to do is to use the land above our mining operations to set up this project which will produce livestock for export so that we can earn the country more foreign currency,” she said.
Mrs Chindove said Zimplats and the local communities in Mhondoro-Ngezi would both benefit from the livestock project.
“At the same time the project is directly linked to the community in that all the feed for the project will be grown by communities around our mining operations. We want to go beyond that to say once the community has actually grown all the soya, maize and sunflower required for stock feed production there is no need to send that to Harare for production, instead we are going to set up a company that produces stock feed for the cattle within Turf in Mhondoro-Ngezi,” she said.
Mrs Chindove said Zimplats also intends to include a dairy herd within the project so that the province can also extend the amount of production of milk currently being produced.
“This is something we believe can be a case study and if it works well can be implemented by other mining companies within our province,” she said.
She said Zimplats was undertaking business valued at US$40m as part of its drive to empower local Small and Medium Enterprises. The Herald
