Herald Reporter
DUTCH billionaire and investor Mr Marcel Boekhoorn met President Mnangagwa at State House in Harare yesterday to present ambitious plans for expanding his operations in Zimbabwe.
Mr Boekhoorn, the founder of Ramphastos Investments, is already a key player on the local market through his ownership of the Canterbury mining operation in Shamva.
The high-level delegation he led sought to outline his strategy for a broader and deeper investment into Zimbabwe’s rich mineral sector, a key pillar of the Government’s economic growth strategy.
The high-profile visit places a spotlight on Zimbabwe’s mining potential and comes two days before Africa’s richest man, Mr Aliko Dangote, is scheduled to arrive in Harare for a meeting with President Mnangagwa.
Mr Dangote is scheduled to meet the President tomorrow.
The high-level delegation he led sought to outline his strategy for a broader and deeper investment into Zimbabwe’s rich mineral sector, a key pillar of the Government’s economic growth strategy.
The back-to-back engagements with international billionaires signal a surge of foreign investor interest in the country and that under President Mnangagwa, “Zimbabwe is open for business”.
Addressing journalists after the courtesy call, Canterbury Mining Group secretary Mr Samuel Rusike said the company was ready to expand its investments in Zimbabwe.
He said the company’s major shareholder, based in the Netherlands, responded to President Mnangagwa’s call for investment by choosing Zimbabwe as a strategic base.
“They want to expand,” he said. “So they came to see the President and tell him that as investors they are confident and want to expand. So, may you please assist us?”
Mr Rusike said the company has been involved in a lot of social corporate responsibility programmes in areas where it is conducting its mining activities.
“We are saying that we have built a state-of-the-art school, which houses 750 students and we have also built accommodation for 18 teachers,” he said.
“So we are looking at expanding our production, that is a larger area to get more gold ore. That will create more jobs going forward. So far, they have invested about US$25 million and they are looking at doubling it”.
Currently, Canterbury Mining Company is producing an average of 45 kilogrammes of gold per month.
Due to the conducive operating environment, the gold mine is conducting exploration in Zvishavane with the intention of building a bigger plant and expanding operations.
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