By Business Reporter – Thursday 27 August 2020
HARARE (Mining Index) – DID you know that Zimbabwe has an estimated coal resource of 26 billion tonnes?
Hwange area hosts large reserves of both coking and thermal coal. Coal production has been confined to Hwange, with little production from Tuli and Mkwasine coalfields.
There are also vast reserves in Lower Karoo of the mid Zambezi and the Save-Limpopo basins.
Although Zimbabwe’s coal potential is yet to be fully exploited, it is estimated that 12 billion tonnes of good quality coal reserves are situated in the middle Zambezi basin to the north, and Save Limpopo basin in the south of the country.
Binga is not only a resort town, but boasts of an estimated 1.2 billion tonnes of coal reserves available for exploitation. Binga shares economic boundaries with Hwange on the western side and Nyaminyami on the eastern side.
Last year, Binga Rural District Council Agriculture and Tourism Officer Sam Mwinde said results of a research conducted by a prospective investor revealed that there is good quality coal suitable for coke production.
Significant deposits of coal are also available in Mbire, north of Zimbabwe but no meaningful mining activity has taken place to extract the mineral.
Also endowed with vast high grade coal deposits is Masvingo province, with coal reserves adequate to set up a thermal power station that can generate and supply electricity into the country’s national power grid. ENDS// www.miningindex.co.zw
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