Taurai Mangudhla
The Moti Group last week launched a multimillion dollar aluminothermic plant in Kwekwe which is premised on value addition of chrome fines. Previously the industry had focused on lumpy ores. He also wants to diversify into diamonds, gold and pharmaceuticals. Moti group chairman Zunaid Moti (ZM) tells Business Times senior reporter Taurai Mangudhla on his company’s diversification thrust. Find excerpts of the interview below.
TM: Can you briefly speak about the Moti diversification strategy, what’s the focus?
ZM: I think there is a good opportunity for us to do that but we have to remain focused on what we are doing. A lot of businessmen diversify too quickly and then they find themselves being a Jack of all trades and master of none so to say. We want to focus on what we have on the ground, perfect it and bring value to our people and ourselves, optimise that before we venture into other minerals.
TM: What minerals specifically are you looking at?
ZM: There is a good possibility we are getting into diamonds; diamond polishing to be specific. This will enable us to be in a position to transfer skills. What we want to do is to transfer skills to local people to polish diamonds. It’s crazy that we have such beautiful vast diamond reserves but we are not beneficiating; we are selling them for next to nothing. We want to be able to make sure Zimbabweans are empowered with skills so that our jobs are secured. We don’t need to take this to Belgium and Israel to polish diamonds. We have intelligent people; the most intelligent people on the continent are Zimbabweans; this is nothing for them. We need to invest in skills, so diamonds yes, definitely, possibly 2020 or 2021, gold yes. And at present you are aware that we are involved in Motivational Mining.
TM: What will your first priority be
ZM: We are starting off with chrome, moving into lithium then gold and diamonds.
So we are quite big in lithium, we have big lithium reserves in Zimbabwe. We are putting a very big focus on this because alternative energy is the flavour in corporates and in technology. Without lithium it’s exceptionally difficult for them to move forward with the type of ideas they have on alternative energy.
TM: You recently spoke about moving into pharmaceuticals, what’s the rationale?
ZM: You know about that? We have teamed up with a reputable Indian company to open up an opportunity here in Zimbabwe for generic manufacturing of drugs.
That’s a good step for the locals because there is a huge amount of expenses involved with these, if I may call it, non-generic products in terms of pricing. There is a huge discrepancy between generic and, I don’t know what the term would be, but they are non-generic products.
I think the generic product will give Zimbabweans an opportunity to have access to medicines at a far cheaper price that they are currently having and also improve the healthcare opportunity so that we can later on offer medical aid through these particular structures and Government assisted medical aid utilising these generic products as a platform.
Majority of the expenses for medical aid is medical care, this is visiting the doctor and so on but secondly, the most important, is the remedy which is the medicine.
You cannot sell medicine for little children for $50 when a man is earning $200 or $300 a month. It puts him in a very difficult space. Where they are paying $50, they will now spend $5 on the same medication giving him the same results and that would help the masses.
TM: What’s the nature of your partnership with the Indian firm?
ZM: It’s a joint venture. They have the knowhow. We always want to pick the right technology and skill with what we are doing. They are among the biggest and they have the ability to set these plants up and create a value chain so that Zimbabwe can be a part of creating jobs and transferring skills in this environment again.
What I am saying is that it is about creating jobs, creating foreign exchange because most of this is for export, including the pharmaceuticals because we want to find ourselves in a position to supply our neighbours and thereby become a proudly made in Zimbabwe product.
TM: What are the timelines for your deals?
ZM: On generic manufacturing we are a year away, Motivational Mining is being implemented now with Sakunda and lithium definitely by the end of next year. Those are the preliminary timelines. ACF, thank God we are here now.
TM: How much will be spent on the pharmaceutical deal?
ZM: We are talking about between $35 million and $50 million but this depends on what the market shows. We are currently conducting a market survey because we need to understand what the best product for Zimbabwean use is and from that decide what capital is required to implement.
It has Government support. The most amazing thing about this regime change, and I am sure you have seen this across the board is that there is activity, investment. There are people on the ground; there is movement. Before there was silence and worse than the silence there were no jobs.
TM: We understand you have been acquiring ground for lithium claims. Can you speak a bit on that?
ZM: I have purchased hundreds of lithium concessions and I am growing those, our reserves are around 15 000 ha and I am growing those. While everyone was deliberating on investment we were moving.
TM: How much did you spend on the lithium claims?
ZM: I can’t really tell you that I don’t have those numbers on my fingertips, but I can tell you now it’s a lot cheaper than the guys who are going to be buying it from us. We are looking at consolidating them and find a beneficiation partner to try and either identify a beneficiation partner to beneficiate outside the country on a joint venture or alternatively do a lithium oxide and lithium carbide facility in the medium term in three to five years.
TM: What gives you confidence to invest in Zimbabwe’s lithium when some corporates have for decades held on to claims running a series of tests without any real production?
ZM: It’s the most amazing lithium reserve; it’s a hard rock lithium oxide. When you look at my lithium reserves they are cropping on the ground. They are on the ground; I don’t have to go 600 m deep to find them. Which type of business men who wouldn’t want to harvest on the metals on the ground to maybe 50 m? It stretches for at least 3 km to 4 km, they are between 50m and 200m wide. It’s an absolute treat for somebody to have these reserves in comparison to other reserves. We are currently engaging competent persons to process it.
