Kamativi Tin Mine is set to be reopened after 23 years after Chinese investor China Beijing Pinchang released $1 million for the preliminary work. The Chinese company is set to invest $102 million in the mine which is wholly owned by the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC).
Mines and Mining Development Minister Walter Chidhakwa who was in parliament said:
There was a requirement to release $1 million which would be used to do the preliminary work; geological work to establish the ground and what it has. That money was released. It took a bit of time but it was released and a team of eight geologists; four Zimbabwean geologists and another four from China spent six months at Kamativi working on the geology. Their report came out at the end of December 2016.
The mine was closed in 1994 when the price of tin plunged from $18 000 per tonne to $3 000 per tonne. The price of tin has since firmed to between $17 000 and $22 000 per tonne, hence the decision to reopen the money.
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