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- Market Demands Are Shifting Towards Precision and Compliance
- Government Regulations Now Require Survey-Grade Coordinates
- Peggers Must Upskill to Stay Relevant
- Peggers Are Vital to the ASM Sector but Need Institutional Support
- Legal Accountability Is Increasing for Spatial Data Submission
As the demand for precision and cost-efficiency grows in Zimbabwe’s mining sector, peggers risk becoming obsolete not because of the law, but because clients increasingly prefer surveyors who can both peg and submit compliant, survey-grade coordinates.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
While the writing is on the wall for peggers, also known as staking agents, who lack formal mine surveying qualifications, the real threat isn’t from legislative changes but from shifting market expectations. Investors and mining companies now demand precision, legal defensibility, and data-driven compliance, making qualified surveyors more attractive than peggers who rely on tape measures and handheld GPS devices.
In this evolving environment, professionals who can offer both pegging services and legally acceptable survey data will dominate. Mine surveyors who are also staking agents offer a one-stop solution, saving clients time and money. Institutions like the Zimbabwe School of Mines are already training such multi-skilled professionals, setting the pace for the future of Zimbabwe’s mining sector.
Despite this shift, many peggers remain confident that existing laws will continue to protect their relevance. When Mining Zimbabwe published an article titled “New Law Threatens to Render Peggers Obsolete,” it sparked backlash from peggers who felt unfairly targeted.
They argued their role remains indispensable, particularly in the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) sector, which contributes over 60% of Zimbabwe’s gold production. Peggers have traditionally helped miners identify and register claims, often in remote areas under harsh conditions, using deep local knowledge.
Their contribution to Zimbabwe’s gold boom is undeniable. However, the operational and regulatory terrain is shifting. Recent government directives now prohibit the use of handheld GPS for pegging, instead requiring survey-grade coordinates. This signals a push towards formalising the sector, improving boundary clarity, and reducing disputes, a shift that increasingly favours survey-trained professionals.
In an exclusive interview with Mining Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Prospectors Association (ZPA) President Timothy “Zheyu” Chizuzu stated that peggers aren’t going away, but they must evolve. “Peggers will survive,” he said, “but only those who upgrade their skills and understand that future boundaries will rely on accurate coordinates.”
Chizuzu clarified that the goal is not to turn peggers into full surveyors, but to train them on how to accurately operate differential GPS (DGPS) technology and manipulate geospatial data to generate reliable survey-grade coordinates. This technical upskilling, he said, would allow peggers to meet new regulatory demands without the long and costly process of becoming certified surveyors.
However, he also emphasised that once peggers are entrusted with producing and submitting critical spatial data, they must be held to the same standards of accountability as surveyors.
“If a pegger submits false or inaccurate coordinates that cause boundary disputes or loss of investment,” Chizuzu said, “they should face the full wrath of the law, including possible jail time. Accuracy must come with responsibility.”
To ignore peggers would be a mistake. They have navigated the roughest terrains, supported small-scale miners from grassroots to gold sales, and earned trust in communities where government and corporate presence is limited. But nostalgia cannot sustain a billion-dollar sector now driven by digitisation, traceability, and legal compliance.
What’s needed is not replacement, but reinforcement through skills development.
The Zimbabwe School of Mines and other vocational training institutions should offer modular programs and short courses designed specifically for registered peggers. These should focus on accurate use of differential GPS, digital data handling, and legal requirements under the evolving mining law. The goal is to transform today’s peggers into competent, data-driven staking professionals, preserving their relevance and securing their economic future.
The Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill may not outlaw peggers outright, but it is ushering in a new operational standard. In that new world, clients will not choose based on tradition or loyalty, but on value, compliance, and legal certainty.
The government has an opportunity right now to be proactive. It must not wait for a crisis or for thousands of peggers to be pushed out of work before acting. Their experience, trust, and understanding of Zimbabwe’s mineral-rich geography are national assets. But to stay in the game, these assets must be upgraded.
This is not an obituary for peggers. It’s a call to action.
The future is digital, mapped, and verified, but it can still include peggers. With the right support, they don’t have to be casualties of modernisation. They can be part of it.
