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By Donald Nyarota.

Mutare, Zimbabwe. ( News of The South) -Improved production from small scale miners which produced 280kg for year 2015.

Redwing Mine expected to produce more than set annual production quota of 300kg.

PENHALONGA – Resumption of operations at Redwing Mine have buoyed Manicaland’s hopes of surpassing the annual target of 300kg, amid anticipated improved output from small scale miners.

With small scale miners having produced 280kg last, Provincial Mining Director Christopher Dube’s target of 300kg will be significantly surpassed by the resuscitation of Redwing Mine.

“As a province we produced 280kgs of gold and as of this year we are targeting to produce 300 kgs as a province this is our quota from the Ministry.

“The coming in of Redwing Mine is going to make this target we are expected to meet much easier,” he said.

The mine, owned Metallon Gold, had closed in 2008 due to flooding and reopened at the end of last year is operating at less than 40% capacity utilization, with the management targeting full operations by end of year.

Metalon Gold corporate affairs executive Zenzo Nsimbi told a delegation led by the Minister of Mines and Mineral Development Walter Chidhakwa that the mine alone will produce 528kg.

Nsimbi said at full throttle the mine which reaches 22 level about 880km underground and is flooded up to 6 level, aims to surpass the current 89% gold retention rate to above 90% by December.

He said the mine is expecting to reach full capacity utilization by from the third quarter of 2016 and increase employment.

“We have resumed operations and we have 508 employees and we expect another 200 more jobs to be created by year end so that we can reach our target of 17 000 ounces (0.528 tonnes).

“We are currently operating at about a third of our capacity but we hope by the end of the year we will have gone full throttle,” he said.

Redwing will also recruit 200 more workers to beef up its production capacity at the labour intensive mine.

Its production has shown an improvement in recovery percentage, both quantity and quality of gold as well as staff complement, from November 2015 to February 2016.

In November 2015 Redwing produced 8.7 kg of gold at a recovery rate of 70% with a labour of 441 and these steadily rose to 21.8 kg at 86.2 recovery rate from 518 workers.

Mine manager Newton Murimirwa said their operations were still labour intensive and would affect production capacity as the company seeks capitalization to migrate to modern extraction technologies.

He said despite challenges of low ore recovery rate increased capacity utilisation would also positively stimulate recovery rate.

“Currently we are at a monthly output of 21 kg targeting 27 by mid by year and 35kg in the fourth quarter to reach its our annual output target of 17 000 ounces about 528 kg in December.

“So while we are working to reaching our installed capacity we are also cognizant that we need to migrate to newer extraction technologies but of course this needs a lot of investment,” he said.

Since initial prospecting and exploration Redwing Mine has produced a total of 61 tonnes in two periods from 1904 to 1935 1. 27 million ounces (35.9 tonnes) and between 1981 to 2013 it produced 0.68 million ounces (21.1 tonnes).

Nsimbi also said Metallon Gold had reached an initial offer, with reservations, of indigenization compliance which will see workers, community, the National Indigenization and Economic Empowerment Fund and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, getting shares.

“We have an approved plan of compliance which will see worker getting 10%, the community through the Community Share Ownership Trust, NIEEF and RBZ, although we have reservations over the central bank,” he said.

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