ZESA Holdings, Zimbabwe’s power utility has raised mines power tariff by 8% to meet production cost.
ZESA executive chairperson Sydney Gata said in a letter to miners said the power utility will no longer charge mining houses tariffs below cost of production as it is struggling to service “ballooning power import debt.”
“ZESA will no longer be able to continue supplying electricity to exporting customers at $0.986/kWh as it is unsustainable. Mining companies, will be charged $0.1063/kWh from August 1. Power from diesel-run Hwange plant, which is under expansion to add 300 MW is produced at $0.107/kWh, translating to 12c for customers,” said Gata.
Mining in Zimbabwe
The Southern African country generates an average 1 200 MW to 1 300 MW of its own electricity and relies on imports from Zambia, South Africa and Mozambique to cover shortfalls. ZESA requires $17-million monthly for those imports, the company has said in the past.
Zimbabwe’s mining sector is highly diversified, with close to 40 different minerals. The predominant minerals include platinum, chrome, gold, coal, and diamonds. The country, which has the world’s third-biggest reserves of platinum-group metals, and also mines gold, diamonds and chrome, is targeting growth in the sector to $12-billion output by 2023.
The sector accounts for about 12 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). And the country’s top minerals include gold, platinum, chrome, coal, diamonds, and lithium.