Amid Zimbabwe’s policy changes after former President Robert Mugabe’s removal in November 2017 and the subsequent air of expectation, the country’s platinum sector is poised for growth, if not for the challenges presented by the depressed global platinum market. The Zimbabwe Geological Survey Department (ZGSD) notes that the Great Dyke – a linear, early Proterozoic layered mafic-ultramafic intrusion that is 550 km long and 11 km deep – contains the world’s second-largest platinum reserves after the Bushveld Complex, in South Africa. The ZGSD states on its website that the Great Dyke hosts 2.8-billion tonnes of platinum group metals (PGMs) ore grading 4 g/t.
SRK Consulting corporate consultant, partner and economic geologist Hennie Theart states that Zimbabwe is well known for its greenstone-hosted gold deposits, and its chromite and platinum deposits related to the Great Dyke. He adds that, while the country has been well explored historically, there has not been much exploration in the recent past; thus, there is much potential.
Acknowledgement: Mining Weekly
