Zimbabwe has a huge and highly diversified mineral resource base dominated by prominent geological features. As a result of its good geology, the country has huge mineral potential characterized by about 60 economic minerals whose commercial profitability has been proven.
The Great Dyke is a layered igneous complex extending north-south for about 550 km. The Great Dyke plays host to the world’s largest high grade chromite resource base. Zimbabwe has the world’s second largest resource of platinum group of metals as well as significant reserves of copper and nickel. With rock ages spanning a period of more than 3 billion years, Zimbabwe’s geological environment is favourable to occurrences of a variety of minerals and ore bodies.
Gold.
Major minerals
The following is an overview of some of the major minerals found in the country:
Gold - There are over 4 000 recorded gold deposits, nearly all of them located on ancient workings. The country remains under-explored when it comes to discovering new deposits as well as realising its full potential of known deposits. More than 90% of gold deposits in Zimbabwe are associated with greenstone belts which are some of the richest and comparable to those in some leading gold producing countries in the world like Australia, South Africa and Canada.
Diamonds - Diamond is a gemstone of enormous potential in Zimbabwe. Globally, diamond bearing kimberlites are commonly found in ancient cratons such as the Kaapvaal, the Siberia and the Congo. With similar geology to these areas, the well exposed Zimbabwe craton presents vast opportunities for kimberlitic diamond discoveries. The country has about 160 known kimberlites with kimberlite hosted diamond mining taking place at Murowa Mine in Zvishavane, Midlands Province and River Ranche Mine in Beitbridge, Matabeleland South Province. The recent discovery of significant placer diamond deposits in the Marange and Chimanimani areas, Manicaland Province, points to significant diamond potential in ancient basins across the country. If this resource is explored and mined extensively, it is believed that Zimbabwe has the potential of being a major player in global diamond production.
Platinum Group Metals - Zimbabwe hosts the second largest Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) resource in the world after South Africa. The bulk of the resource is on the Great Dyke which hosts about 2.8 billion tonnes of PGMs ore at 4g/t 4e. The grade and thickness of ore bodies persist over large areas. The Great Dyke has two PGM-bearing horizons, the Main Sulphide Zone (MSZ) and the Lower Sulphide Zone (LSZ). Currently, mining is on the MSZ. The LSZ is still to be investigated in greater detail, thus availing further opportunities for investors.
Coal Bed Methane (CBM) Gas - Coal Bed Methane gas (CBM) exploration and development in Zimbabwe started in the early 1990s. Subsequent studies indicated that most coal basins in the country have physical conditions, such as coal seam thicknesses, coal rank and depth of the coal seam, suitable for CBM occurrences. As a result, a number of companies took up CBM exploration across the county’s coal fields, revealing that the coal basins particularly in the western parts of the country have high potential for CBM with a national estimate of CBM resource of 40 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of over 95% purity. The potential for CBM in the country is huge and presents unique and competitive investment opportunities.
Coal - Zimbabwe hosts large reserves of coal in the Lower Karoo rocks of the mid Zambezi Basin and the Save-Limpopo basin. Over 29 coal localities are known with an estimated resource of more than 26 billion tonnes confined to coal fields in the Zambezi Valley but recently there has been limited coal production at the Sengwa coalfield near Gokwe, Mkwasine coalfield near Chiredzi and the Tuli coalfield near Beitbridge. The full potential of Zimbabwe’s coalfields is yet to be exploited. The coal is high grade and suitable for both thermal power generation and coking purposes such as in metallurgical applications.
Natural Gas - Mobil Exploration conducted Oil exploration from 1989 to 1993 in the Zambezi basin. Evaluating the survey data, it was concluded that the region could be characterised as gas prone with potential for liquid hydrocarbons as source rocks with liquid potential were also identified.
Chrome - Chrome ore occurs in two distinct geological environments namely the Great Dyke and the greenstone belts. Chrome reserves on the Great Dyke approximate 10 Billion tonnes. Zimbabwe is estimated to host over 80% of the world’s resource of metallurgical chrome, mainly on the Great Dyke with a chromic oxide range of 47% to 60% and chromium to iron ratios ranging between 2:2 and 4:1. Deposits hosted outside the Great Dyke occur in some ultramafic rocks of the Shurugwi, Mashava and Belingwe greenstone belts, and ultramafic bodies in the Limpopo Mobile Belt. Nickel Kanyemba deposit there are 4 ore bodies which are approximately parallel to each other with a spacing of 20-150m between them.
Iron ore - Zimbabwe has huge iron ore deposits associated with banded ironstone formations in greenstone belts. Major deposits are estimated to be over 30 billion tonnes of reserves. Some of the high-grade deposits are found at Buchwa and Ripple Creek, in the Midlands Province. Significant ironstone deposits include the huge Mwanesi deposit west of Chivhu and Nyuni near Masvingo. Manyoka and Mongula and several similar deposits in the Limpopo Mobile Belt also have huge potential.
Nickel - The geology of Zimbabwe is highly favourable for nickel occurrences. The country’s nickel sulphide endowment includes a variety of komatiite and mafic intrusion-hosted deposits. More than 30 deposits have been discovered to date. Other sources of nickel are the huge laterite nickel deposits on the northern part of the Great Dyke and oxide nickel deposits in several serpentinite areas in greenstone belts as well as igneous complexes around the country.
Copper - There are over 70 known deposits in Zimbabwe that have produced copper either as a primary or secondary product. The main producing area stretches for over 150km. Similar copper deposits are found in the southeastern part of the country and also occur in greenstone belts across the country.
Tantalum – Columbite was found in Zimbabwe in 1911, but it was not until 1937 that production commenced from the Bikita Tinfields. Tantalum and niobium occurrences in Zimbabwe are known to be associated with granitic pegmatites.
Lithium - Zimbabwe was ranked fourth in the World as a lithium producer in 1984. Nearly all production comes from the Bikita pegmatite, which is one of the largest lithium – bearing pegmatites in the world. Five Lithium minerals are mined at Bikita and all have been produced from other pegmatites in Zimbabwe. The minerals are petalite, lepidolite, spodumene, eucryptite and amblygonite. A variety of important minerals that include tin and wolframite, beryl, mica, feldspar, and gemstones such as emerald, aquamarine, chrysoberyl, alexandrite and euclase.
Dimension stones - The most well-known dimension stone in Zimbabwe is the famous black granite ubiquitous in the north-eastern part of the country which has attracted considerable foreign investors.
