India-Zimbabwean steelmaker to resume operation after long dispute

HARARE, May 10 (Xinhua): An India-Zimbabwean steelmaker, mothballed for three years, will start producing 500,000 tonnes of liquid steel annually in the next two years after the plant's two major stakeholders resolved their disputes over mineral claim ownership, a cabinet minister said Friday.  Industry and Commerce Minister Mike Bimha told journalists that the second phase of the NewZim Steel revival would see the output to be increased to 1.2 million tons per annum after 2016.  Rehabilitation and installation of plant is already underway at a cost of 650 million US dollars, Bimha said. NewZim Steel is a joint venture mainly between the Zimbabwean government and a regional subsidiary of India's Fortune 500 firm Essar Global. The joint venture was set up in 2011 but it has since failed to become operational.

Bimha said considerable time and effort has been spent in readjusting the revival process. In parallel, NewZim Minerals will work on exploration and development of an iron ore beneficiation project, while iron ore from two stations will be blended to improve the quality of feedstock to the steel plant, he added.

The reopening of the steelmaker, formerly Ziscosteel, had been held up by squabbles between the partners over ownership of mineral claims, which now the government eventually agreed to transfer 80 per cent of the rights to Essar while keeping the remainder.

Once the largest integrated steel works in the region, Ziscosteel had shut down in 2008 due to alleged gross mismanagement and failure to upgrade equipment.