Kuvimba Mining House’s subsidy, Bindura Nickel Corporation’s Trojan Mine has stopped operations
after experiencing a major breakdown of the Sub-vertical Rock Winder (SRV), which pulls ore from
underground for further processing at the concentrator plant.
The breakdown has resulted in the temporary stoppage of ore hoisting operations and consequently
the production of nickel concentrates at the mine.
The breakdown has seen mine management sending at least three quarters of the mine workforce
on “forced” paid leave since they are not working.
They will only be called after operations have resumed.
The mine’s Human Resources Executive, Rumbidzai Mushati, said the mechanical problem happened
in early October and experts were on site, assisting with the trouble-shooting.
It is envisaged that normal operations will resume this week (end of November).
“Early last month our company experienced breakdown of the SRV and resultantly production was
affected.
“We consulted mining specialists, FL Smith and Winders in South Africa, who realised there is a
misalignment of the bearings on the SRV.
“Their experts are here to assist with trouble shooting, we are sure that a solution will be found by
end of November after which normal mining operations are expected to resume.
“So far, three-quarters of our employees are temporarily suspended until the mine resumes ore
hoisting and processing operations.
“Sub-vertical Rock Winder hoists ore from underground for further processing at the concentrator
plant, therefore, the breakdown is temporarily detrimental to ore hoisting operations and the
production of nickel concentrate.
“The mine is not closed and none of the workers are prejudiced. Everyone was paid on time and
there are also going to be paid in November,” said Mushati.
Company Secretary, Conrad Fungai Mukanganga, said the company’s production performance had
been negatively affected by the unanticipated change.
“This necessitated a rapid transition in the mining model from a low-volume, high-grade strategy to
a low-grade, high-volume strategy. Unfortunately the transition is behind schedule due to a delay in
the delivery of new underground mining mobile equipment, which is a prerequisite to the realisation
of the new mining strategy.
Mukanganga said that the delay in the delivery of equipment was due to disruption in the global
supply chains as a result of the protracted effects of Cov id-19 pandemic and the ongoing geo-
political tensions related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The mine is expecting mining mobile equipment to arrive thus enabling the mine to transition into a
high-volume, low-grade mining strategy, leading to an anticipated upswing in ore volumes and a
return to profitability.
Bindura Nickel Corporation has three mining locations in Zimbabwe, namely Trojan Mine (Bindura),
Shangani Mine (Shangani) and the Hunters’ Road Project (between Gweru and Kwekwe). The
Company previously operated Epoch Mine (Filabusi) and Madziwa Mine (Madziwa), both of which
are now closed.
Through Trojan Nickel Mine Limited, the company also owns smelter and refinery complexes in
Bindura. Both complexes are currently under care and maintenance.
TNML produces approximately 400,000 tonnes of ore and 5,500 tonnes of nickel in concentrate
annually respectively.
Trojan Mine, located in Bindura was restarted in 2012 after four years of care and maintenance. It
has an inferred resource size of 8.59 million tonnes of one percent nickel ore grade, which amounts
to 85,600 tonnes of contained nickel. The mine has proven ore reserves of 2.76 million tonnes at an
average grade of 0.86 percent nickel ore, amounting to 23,600 tonnes of contained nickel.
