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By Hillary Munedzi
African commodity exporters have been urged to create a business-friendly environment in a bid to attract investment into their domestic mining sectors as elevated commodity prices are fueling an export boom across the continent.
With the war in Ukraine set to stroke strong inflationary pressures across Africa, high prices for gold, oil, iron ore, aluminum, and antimony in Zimbabwe will stoke investments that will help to reduce external imbalances, stabilize the Zimbabwean dollar and boost economic growth.
Investors are gravitating towards the Global South for mineral concession and one mineral that has caught the eye of many investors is antimony.
According to USGS data, China produced roughly 55% of the global supply during 2021, and Russia accounted for about 23%, which comes to a combined 78%.
As a result of the supply shortage, antimony was selling for US$6 per pound at mid-year, more than double the US$2.67/lb average price in 2020.
“Antimony comes from a Greek name called Antimonies which means it is a metal that does not exist alone. It is mainly found with tin and lead in existence and it is mined in so many places in Zimbabwe in Kwekwe, Gutu, Mberengwa, and other areas.
So as an antimony miner the markets are sought of planned pricing whereby one mine at a given price and the quality of the metal is determined by the buyer.
Its mainly used for pressing machines and it is a key ingredient in communication equipment, night vision goggles, explosives, ammunition, nuclear weapons, submarines, warships, optics, laser sighting, and much more.
In addition to its military uses, antimony is increasingly being used as a primary ingredient in liquid-metal batteries that can store electricity at the grid scale, a key enabler to the transition to intermittent renewable energy sources so the prospects for antimony are quite good for Zimbabwe,’’ said Mutumwa Mawere Junior, the Chief Executive Officer of Ore Resources of Africa.
All these uses make antimony a very strategic metalloid to the military, especially in the developed world.
Despite its strategic value to the U.S.A and critical applications in the private sector, no marketable antimony is being mined in the U.S. Instead, America depends on oft adversarial countries for more than 80% of its needs, with the rest coming from recycling.
“Zimbabwe has vast minerals which need to be exploited and the Russia invasion of Ukraine has made antimony rise in price. There is a need for the Government of Zimbabwe to take advantage of this mineral. There is a need to do magnetic surveys and geological mapping in areas like Gutu.
“As we WeMine Pvt Ltd, we urge miners to do mine exploration and surveying, and miners must diversify their portfolio and invest in these rare minerals like antimony and gemstone for the country to achieve a $12 billion mining economy by 2023,” he said.