The refurbishment of the high-tech Hwange Coke Oven Battery is nearing completion slated for commissioning as of the first of October, 2025, the Minister of Nines and Mineral Development, Ho. Winston Chitando, has said.
Winding the tour of key investments into coke production, coal powered electricity generation plans and expanded coal production and value addition infrastructure in Hwange recently Minister Chitando said that, Hwange coke oven battery project set to boost mineral value addition at Hwange after the first battery outlived its capacity.
Hwange Colliery Company Pvt Ltd first established a coke brickyard in 1908 and the production of coke followed in 1913, alongside the town’s founding after coal discovery around 1900.
Winding up his tour of the Hwange Coal assets and investments the Hon. Minister of Mines, and Mining Development, said that, “Hwange has been producing coking coal and selling all as is without beneficiation and as of the first of October, 2025, the company will now be channeling some of its coal for coke for value addition as coke.”
The Hwange Colliery Company Limited (HCCL) had a coke oven battery that was decommissioned in 2014, but the company has since invested in its revival and the construction of new coke ovens to add value to its mineral resources. A significant project was the commissioning of a US$20 million, two-plant coke oven battery in 2025, a high-tech facility with a capacity of 100,000 tonnes per month. This move aims to boost mineral value addition, a critical strategy for Zimbabwe’s economic growth.
Coal was first discovered in the Hwange area around 1900, leading to the establishment of the town, named after a local chief and by 1908, a brickyard was established in Hwange, using local clays.
In October 2021, HCCL invited bids to revive its coke oven battery to boost revenues through beneficiation and the production of high-value products.
In 2024, a US$20 million, state-of-the-art coke oven battery was under construction in Hwange.
This high-tech facility comprises two plants, each with a 50,000-tonne-per-month capacity, aiming to produce a total of 100,000 tonnes per month upon commissioning in December 2025.
This project is a key element in Zimbabwe’s push for mineral value addition, boosting the economy and contributing to the nation’s growth objectives.
The development is part of a larger, integrated coal industrial park designed to support economic
A coke oven battery is a vital industrial plant that transforms coal into coke, a key fuel used in blast furnaces for steel production and other metallurgical processes. The battery consists of multiple ovens arranged side-by-side to carry out this transformation.
A tour of the construction site revealed substantial progress, with company management confirming that the plant is on track for completion.
The Zimbabwe International Coking Corporation (ZICC), a subsidiary of the China-based Shandong Steel Group, was responsible for the construction of the new coke oven battery in Hwange, and the facility includes two plants with a combined production capacity of 100,000 tonnes per month.
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