Ferrochrome producer in multi-million dollar expansion drive 

GWERU-BASED Chinese ferrochrome producer Jinan has embarked on an expansion drive to improve its furnace to produce high grade ferrochrome and the installation of a solar-powered generation system.

Speaking during a provincial media tour organised by the Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services ministry, Jinan finance manager Munyaradzi Matanyaire said the company had plans to invest US$20 million to improve one of the furnaces to produce low carbon ferrochrome.

“As far as our furnaces are concerned we want to make improvements on one of the furnaces to produce ferro silicon, which is an input for what is known as low carbon ferrochrome,” Matanyaire said.

“We are currently producing high carbon ferrochrome and the prices for it (high carbon ferrochrome) are depressed on the market but with low carbon ferrochrome the prices are high as well as demand.”

He said the equipment for the low carbon ferrochrome furnace had already been manufactured in China awaiting logistical processes to be shipped.

“We hope that by the end of this year or early next year that furnace shoulder be running and the total cost for that investment is around US$20 million.

“That is one of our key projects as we continue with contribution to the Midlands as well as the country’s gross domestic product,” he said.

Matanyaire said the chrome firm was currently operating at 80% capacity — 65 000 tonnes per annum due to a number of factors with the electricity bill and power cuts being some of the major challenges.

“In light of that challenge the company has plans to install a solar-powered generation system for its own power supply,” he said.

“We have two projects lined up and the first phase is installation of a 20 megawatt solar plant at our premises.

“We also intend to acquire land from Gweru City Council for an additional 30 megawatts. So our target for the Gweru solar project is 50 megawatts at a total cost of US$25 million.”

He added: “For the Jinan 20 megawatts phase one solar power plant, the equipment is on its way from China and we hope by the end of the second quarter of this year everything should be in place.”

Matanyaire said there was also a proposal for an additional 100 megawatts solar power plant outside Gweru at a total cost of approximately US$50 million.

Jinan employs about 500 people and has five furnaces but is currently running on four furnaces as one of them is awaiting in upgrading.

The company also runs corporate social responsibility programmes among them paying tuition for Midlands State University students and for children at a primary school in Mkoba as well as regularly providing free drinking water to Mkoba residents, among other programmes.