Zimbabwe Platinum Mines (Zimplats), part of the Implats Group, is investing in a sulfuric acid plant as part of a $1.8 billion investment program aimed at processing more platinum group ores locally. The plan includes increasing smelting capacity from the current 132,000 mt/y to 380,000 mt/y of concentrates.
The acid plant is expected to have a production capacity of about 100,000 mt/y, according to a report by Zimbabwe’s Herald newspaper. Zimplats is reported to be set to use some of the acid output for its own needs, but some will go to Zimbabwe’s phosphate fertilizer production and help reduce imports of both sulfuric acid and phosphate fertilizers.
Zimbabwe Phosphates Industries Ltd. (ZimPhos) currently is Zimbabwe’s sole producer of phosphate fertilizer. Zimphos’ production portfolio includes nameplate capacity for 200,000 mt/y of SSP at Harare and 40,000 mt/y of TSP at Msara, according to the Green Markets database. The producer last September inaugurated its first fertilizer blending plant at Msara, with capacity to produce up to 200,000 mt/y (GM Sept. 16, 2022).
ZimPhos has two sulfuric acid units, one of which relies on imported sulfur, but it is unclear what their operational status is. Zimbabwe’s government has tasked the Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe (IDCZ), ZimPhos’ parent company, to help revamp the country’s fertilizer production, which has since moved to boost fertilizer output through its own units.