Zimbabwean miner Zimplats has announced its board of directors has approved a budget of US$1.8 billion, which includes money for a new mine in Zimbabwe.

The company said the budget would be implemented over a 10-year beginning in 2021. Projects include maintaining current production levels through mine replacements and upgrades, which would account for US$516 million.

A further US$100 million will be spent on refurbishing its mothballed base metal refinery beneficiate converter matte and $201 million will go to a 185MW solar plant to augment power supplies and enhance ESG performance metrics.

The most significant expense will be what Zimplats called "expanding production levels through growth projects," including constructing a new mine and increasing operational capacity from 6.7 million tonnes to 8.8 million annually.

It will also establish an abatement facility to mitigate the current and expanded smelting capacity of sulphuric dioxide emissions.

The announcement comes after the company announced in November that it made $1.4 billion in revenue in 2021, a 56% year-on-year increase, despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.