IN a major expansion drive, African Chrome Fields (ACF) is injecting US$30 million into its operations to ramp up production to 600 000 tonnes per year, reinforcing its status as Zimbabwe’s largest chrome producer.
With global chrome prices firming, driven largely by demand from the Asia-Pacific region, ACF is on track to exceed 300 000 tonnes of high-grade chrome concentrate this year.
In a statement prepared for the Zimbabwe Independent, the company said it aims to produce 50 000 tonnes of chrome concentrate monthly over the next five years.
“While current output falls short of this target, ACF remains committed to expanding and developing its operations to meet this goal within the stipulated timeframe,” it said.
“In the short term, our production strategy focuses on gradually increasing monthly output, through the upgrading of existing wash plants and the construction of new wash plants in areas where mining activities have not yet commenced.”
ACF, which exported 240 000 tonnes of the highly sought-after mineral last year, has spent nearly US$12 million over the past two years to advance its expansion strategy.
“Since 2023, we have relocated and constructed Washplant 5 and commenced development of Washplant 7, which currently operates with two spirals,” ACF said.
“Additionally, we have upgraded our existing wash plants by installing supplementary spirals. As part of our ongoing expansion, we plan to relocate current wash plants to unmined claims and acquire additional mining rights to sustain and accelerate growth.”
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The company said it expects to invest between US$27 million and US$30 million over the next five years, with its capital expenditure and expansion initiatives already well underway in year two of its strategic plan.
The growth strategy, ACF added, will create significant employment opportunities in the Midlands province.
“By the end of 2025, ACF will have a staff complement of over 1 000 personnel, who during their shifts, reside on-site. With a social multiplier of 6:1 in Zimbabwe, ACF supports approximately 6 000 dependents based on our staff complement alone,” the company said.
ACF produces chrome concentrate, a key stage in the beneficiation chain.
“This involves mining raw chrome ore and processing it into chrome concentrate, thereby adding value to the extracted material,” the company said.
“ACF is currently unable to beneficiate beyond chrome concentrate due to several constraints, including the need for a consistent electricity supply."
To stabilise operations, the company has invested heavily in generators.
“Two of our wash plants have access to grid electricity; however, each wash plant is equipped with multiple on-site generators to ensure continuity in the event of a power outage and to maintain a consistent power supply,” ACF said.
“Over the past five years, we have, for the first time, secured an electricity connection to the mining site, and the supply appears to be becoming more stable.”
Erratic water availability triggered by the El Niño-induced drought has also disrupted operations.
To mitigate this, ACF has drilled several boreholes to sustain wash plant activities, though the company acknowledged the solution is “not always fool proof” without rainfall.
“We intend to expand to nine wash plant sites across our mining claims and achieve a sustainable production target of approximately 50 000 tonnes per month, equating to roughly 600 000 tonnes annually,” ACF said.
“To reach these ambitious goals, we have begun acquiring additional mining claims and are in the process of finalising a mining lease to consolidate our existing claims.”
Zimbabwe produces about 2,4 million tonnes of chrome annually.
