All roads lead to Magandi Park this Thursday as Mutapa Gold Resources prepares to honour the first cohort of 300 artisanal miners under its ambitious capacity-building programme targeting 1,500 Artisanal and Small-scale Miners (ASMs) across the country, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
The graduation ceremony, scheduled for 30 April 2026, marks a pivotal step in efforts to formalise and professionalise Zimbabwe’s ASM sector, which now contributes nearly 75% of the nation’s gold output.
Mutapa Gold Resources, in partnership with Magaya Mining, launched the comprehensive capacity-building programme earlier this year. While 300 miners will receive their certificates on Thursday, an additional 1,200 are still undergoing training in safe mining techniques, environmental stewardship, mining legislation, financial literacy, and efficient ore processing.
The initiative directly addresses long-standing challenges in the ASM sub-sector: inadequate skills, poor safety records, environmental degradation, and limited access to formal markets. Upon graduation, miners gain a pathway to formalisation, which unlocks financing options and direct access to off-takers such as Fidelity Gold Refinery.
Chegutu has become a strategic hub for Mutapa Gold Resources’ ASM formalisation drive. The company is currently implementing a contract mining model at the historic Elvington Mine, where artisanal miners share production with Mutapa, ensuring inclusive and equitable resource extraction.
The partnership with Magaya Mining has already seen equipment, compressors, windlasses, and generators handed over to Chegutu’s artisanal miners in 2025, significantly improving safety and operational efficiency.
Mutapa Gold Resources is one of five specialised entities created following the restructuring of the Mutapa Investment Fund’s (MIF) mining portfolio in early 2026. Led by Trevor Barnard, the company controls key assets, including Freda Rebecca, Shamva, and Jena gold mines, and aims to triple consolidated gold production to over 300,000 ounces (nearly 10 tonnes) per annum within three to four years, backed by a US$200 million investment.
The company has also achieved IMS certification in ISO 45001:2018 (Occupational Health and Safety) and ISO 14001:2015 (Environmental Management), underlining its commitment to responsible mining.
Thursday’s graduation comes at a time when Zimbabwe’s ASM sector is surging. In 2025, ASM gold deliveries jumped 46.9% to 34,875 kg. For 2026, the Zimbabwe Miners Federation has set a 40-tonne target from ASMs alone.
