The Zimbabwean unit of Impala Platinum, has announced a new $1.8 billion (about R28 billion) to cater for power outages through a 185 MW solar power plant.

The Zimplats board approved “an overall capital investment strategy with a budget of $1.8 billion to be implemented over a 10-year period beginning in 2021, with $1.2 billion already approved for implementation,” the company said in a statement on Monday.

As much as $969 million of the fresh capital outlay for Zimplats will be used for expansion of production levels through growth projects such as “the development of a new mine and increased processing”.

This will boost its output from 6.7 million tons per annum to 8.8 million tons per annum while the in-country processing capacity will be increased to 380 000 tons of concentrate per year.

Additionally, Zimplats will also establish a “facility to mitigate sulphuric dioxide emissions emanating from the current and expanded smelting capacity”.