The emerald hills and spectacular scenic ridges of The Great Dyke region in Zimbabwe, a natural marvel of near-peerless beauty, have long entranced travellers and adventure-seekers over the years. What is more marvellous still, however, is the geology of the region and the hidden treasure that lie deep beneath its earth. The metal-bearing layered mafic intrusion rock of The Great Dyke is truly ancient, having been dated back to the beginning of the Proterozoic era approximately 2.5 billion years ago; a time when continents were starting to take shape and bacteria and archaea – the precursors of modern life – are known to have emerged. Layered mafic intrusions such as The Great Dyke are rare, as one might imagine, and so too are the platinum group metals (PGMs) that are all but exclusively found in such rock formations. Being home to such a vast geological wonder, it will come as little surprise that Zimbabwe is the world’s third largest platinum producer, behind only South Africa and Russia. Whilst the Great Dyke region is home to a number of existing platinum mines, most notably the Zimplats project, construction work is ongoing at The Great Dyke Investments-owned Darwendale project, one of the world’s largest untapped deposits of PGM resource. “Great Dyke Investments is overseeing the integrated development of the Darwendale project, one of the largest untapped PGM deposit in Zimbabwe, if not the world. The project was initiated in 2014 and over the years since the project began we have been managing different aspects of the greenfield process. We’re talking about geological exploration, which took place in 2016, confirmation of the deposit’s resource and reserves and the necessary reporting according to JORC standards, bankable feasibility studies, organisation of all the required paperwork concerning ecological safety and process and production efficiency considerations,” explained Alex Ivanov, CEO of Great Dyke Investments. The statistics make for impressive reading. Located 65km away from the capital city of Harare, Darwendale has a proven total of 550 tons of resource, 243 tons of which is proven PGM at an average PGM to ore content of 2,95 g/t, and will be operational over a 40-year lifecycle. Once the project goes live, it is anticipated that Darwendale will, at its peak, produce 860,000 ounces of PGM and gold per year, making it the biggest mining venture in Zimbabwe. Construction work on the first phase of this world-class project is ongoing, and its success to date represents the fruits of a joint venture established on a 50:50 parity basis between Russian and Zimbabwean shareholders, a subsidiary of Vi Holdings and Zimbabwe’s Landela Mining Venture. This partnership should not be seen as a standalone one-off joint venture, but rather as a facet of a wider strengthening of ties between the two countries that will result in further co-operation going forward in terms of trade, investment, and technology transfer that will bring considerable benefits to both parties. Naturally, this warm commitment from both sides to ensure the success of the venture means there is great support on-hand for development of the Darwendale project from both the Russian and Zimbabwean governments, which in turn has led to the provision of a wide range of guarantees such as the grant of a special mining lease and national project status by the Zimbabwean authorities. Alex told us: “Zimbabwe is a country with a rich mining history spanning many decades, its reputation is very highly regarded across the mining industry in general. In the field of PGM, there are already three large companies which are already operational in this area. For me, upon arriving just over a year ago when I first joined, I was extremely pleased to receive enormous assistance and support from our colleagues in the Chamber of Mines, general managers from fellow mining companies, and very comprehensive support from government agencies. Having a mining company as a neighbour with many years of experience, it makes life easier when you are going through the process of building your infrastructure, when you have to establish your logistics chain, when you have to work on your procurement structure – there’s all these advantages of greenfield projects.” Alex Ivanov is a mining industry veteran who has built his reputation and credentials over many years, having enjoyed success in a number of leadership roles in the mining space since taking on a challenging position as head of a Sierra Leone-based bauxite miner in 2012. His years spent in this particular position was a baptism by fire which equipped Alex with the skills and nous that would facilitate his rise to the position where he is today – the head of what will soon be one of the world’s most prominent PGM producing mines. Although Zimbabwe has been spared the worst ravages of COVID-19 in comparison to many other countries, his experience in managing in Sierra Leone during the country’s tragic Ebola epidemic set him in good stead to both implement the measures required to protect the health and safety of Great Dykes Investments’ highly capable and professional staff – the cornerstone of the company’s success, in Alex’s view – and take the pragmatic steps necessary to ensure that construction and development of the Darwendale project continued with little disruption. With the $500 million investment needed to reach the first phase of its mine completion targets all but secured, and with a Zimbabwean and international network of professional, highly capable and reliable sub-contractors and procurement partners on hand to ensure the successful development of Darwendale, Great Dyke Investments is a company to watch. Certainly, the global mining community is watching on with great interest. Alex concluded, stating: “Thanks to the incredible work of my colleagues and the Great Dyke Investments team who have enabled us to get where we are, I have been able to concentrate on doing what I need to do: to build a world-class platinum corporation in Zimbabwe. The biggest achievement belongs not to me or the executive team, however – the real success has been the story of the project so far.”
