The much-touted Chinese-run Dinson Iron and Steel Company sent tremors among stakeholders after it ordered a 60-day shutdown that forced home 2 000 workers barely three years after President Mnangagwa made a grand commissioning of Africa’s largest iron mining venture.
A statement
signed by the workers’ committee chairman, Tichaona Masvanhise and a management
representative Benson Shumba attributed the closure of the company running from
September 11 to November 11, 2025, to a major breakdown in the company’s
sintering plant. The statement said immediate repairs are necessary.
However,
sceptical sources are worried that hundreds of Chinese workers at the mine have
been leaving the mine in busses daily which could signal a bigger problem
including longer or even permanent closure.
This is not the
first time that a multi-billion-dollar mining project collapsed in its infancy
in Zimbabwe. Platinum mining giant Hartley Platinum Mine collapsed in 1999
after putting up some of the biggest infrastructure in the country; building
roads and houses in Norton and Chegutu.
Dinson
spokesperson Joseph Shoko however, allayed fears and said workers are only
leaving the company because they cannot spend this long period idle. He said
the Chinese workers needed to go home and visit families.
“There are no
uncertainties. Resources are in abundance to cover 200 years. Before the
shutdown, we had one blast furnace with a capacity of 600 000 tonnes per annum
and we have a target to reach six blast furnaces,” said Shoko.
The workers
were given US$100 last week to help them travel to their different homes and
this would be deducted from their September salaries as advance payment. In
October, they would be on leave and those who don’t have leave days would be on
forced unpaid leave, according to a voice message sent by Masvanhise to
workers.
The statement
said after the breakdown, there is a loss in production and immediate repairs
needed to take place to avoid further damage. The statement also said that
equipment was still on test run and the plant is not yet fully commissioned.
The shutdown provides an opportunity to complete the commissioning process,
ensuring that all equipment is functioning correctly and efficiently. Masvingo
Mirror
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