Listed miner, RioZim, has been hit by crippling power cuts adversely impacting on production across all its mining operations. Gold production at Rena) Mine plunged 21% in the quarter to March 31, 2022 while at Cam &Motor Mine output slumped 34%.
Company secretary Tawanda Chiurayi attributed the plunge in production to the crippling power cuts. "Power supply challenges remained prevalent throughout the quarter, which resulted in under-capacity utilisation and a high cost of production through use of expensive alternative power sources," Chiurayi said.
The company halted production at Dalny Mine largely due to bad ground conditions and flooding of its pits, which made mining impossible. Production is scheduled to resume soon after the dewatering of the pits. However, RioZim is confident of scaling up production in this quarter driven by the recently commissioned Biological Oxidation plant and the expected resumption of mining at Dalny Mine.
Its associate, Murowa (Pvt) Limited, also reported a 49% decline in diamond production in the period under review as a result of the processing of low grade stock piles throughout the period.
RioZim, however said Murowa will be processing high volume throughput at lower grades to sustain production as their expansion project to upgrade the processing capacity of the plant is progressing well and scheduled for commissioning in the current financial year.
In the period under review, RioZim bemoaned the high inflationary environment which persisted through the period leading to the soaring prices of local inputs.
The exporters' nostro retention which remained at 60% during the quarter, was also causing serious headwinds to the company as it was "insufficient for business survival and also a major constraint to the expansion plans".
Despite the challenging operating environment, RioZim is optimistic about improving its fortunes.
- Business Times
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