RioZim seeks a stable power supply

The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed company, RioZim, has said it will remain focused on securing a steady power supply across all its operations to ensure consistent capacity output.

The mining company said in a trading update for the first quarter of 2023, it will manage to achieve this through investments in alternative power supply which comes with a higher cost of production.

“The Group’s focus during the year is to stabilise power supply across all its operations to ensure consistent plant throughput.

“The Group continues to invest in alternative power supply albeit coming at a higher cost of production,” said RioZim.

The mining firm said the second quarter of 2022 saw the Biological Oxidation (BIOX) production plant kicking in, upscaling production volumes.

As a result, the gold business at Cam & Motor Mine increased by 92 percent compared to the previous year in the first quarter despite the report that the BIOX plant is currently not operating at full throttle.

RioZim said production at Renco mine fell by 2 percent during the period under review as it faced power supply challenges.

The group said the mine is focused on investments in additional generators to increase capacity and coverage of the key activities in the mine’s production.

“Production fell by 2 percent from the same period in the prior year.

“Power supply challenges worsened during the quarter due to load shedding and unstable power infrastructure.

“The mine is focused on stabilising power supply to the mine to achieve stable production and various initiatives are being pursued including, among other efforts, investment in additional generators to increase capacity and coverage of the key activities in the mine’s production critical path,” said RioZim.

The trading update also revealed that its Dalny Mine operated under full care and maintenance throughout the first quarter but it however managed to embark on small-scale mining operations to reduce the cash flow impact.

Production at the mine is scheduled and expected in the second quarter of 2023.

“The mine operated under full care and maintenance throughout the quarter.

The mine embarked on small-scale mining operations to reduce the cash flow impact of the fixed care and maintenance costs and production is expected from Q2, 2023,” reads part of the trading update.

RioZim said the continued upward trend of gold prices from the beginning of the quarter practically had a cushioning effect on gold miners against the rising cost of production.

“The nostro retention for exporters was reviewed upwards effective February 2023 to 75 percent from 60 percent.

“The upward review of the nostro retention was a welcome development considering that operating expenses and capital expenditure necessary for business continuity now predominantly require USD,” said the company.

“Exploration remains at the centre of the group’s expansion drive hence the group is focused on expanding its exploration activities across the group’s resource portfolios and upgrading the resources of the producing mines to increase the confidence levels,” said the company secretary Tawanda Chiurayi.-ebusiness