Young women are being urged to rethink and reorganise their career aspirations to venture into the mining industry, as established leaders in Zimbabwe’s mineral sector push to dismantle the perception of mining as a male-only domain, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
The call to action came during a public lecture held on Tuesday at the Women’s University in Africa, co-hosted by the Zimbabwe School of Mines to mark International Women’s Day. The audience included high school pupils from Roosevelt, university students, and trainees from the School of Mines.
“We are catching them young,” said Raine Mupunzi of the Zimbabwe School of Mines, explaining why Form 3 and Form 4 pupils were invited. “We are trying to show them that beyond traditional ‘caregiving’ roles, women have a place at the mining table. This industry used to be male-dominated, but the landscape is changing.”
Mupunzi described the event as a joint effort involving the Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation and the Zimbabwe Association of Women in Mining Associations (ZAWIMA) to amplify female voices and showcase what women are already achieving in the sector.
Mining as a Tool for Family Transformation
Blessing Hungwe, patron of ZAWIMA and a successful small-scale gold miner, used her personal story to advocate for entrepreneurship. She shared how her mining proceeds funded her son’s mining engineering degree—a tangible example of how the sector can transform families.
“The journey of my life has been signposted by mining,” Hungwe said, urging young women to look beyond employment and explore the mining value chain. “We need more women entrepreneurs given opportunities to supply goods, services, and trade.”
Policy Wins for Women Miners
Hungwe also highlighted recent policy shifts driven by organised advocacy:
- Gold Trade Incentives: Starting January 1, Fidelity Gold Refinery (FGR) lowered the threshold for the 5% gold trade incentive from 20kg to just 0.5kg.
- Increased Access: This change, lobbied for by ZAWIMA, makes benefits accessible to a much wider group of female miners.
- Licensing: Fidelity has also licensed an increasing number of women gold buyers.
The Economic Reality
The stakes are high: Zimbabwe’s mining sector generated US$7.3 billion in export earnings in 2025, with gold accounting for US$4.4 billion. Currently, mining accounts for US$75 of every US$100 the country earns from exports. The message to the young women in attendance was clear: these numbers should no longer be dominated by men.
Building a Legacy
Chiedza Chipangura, a veteran in women’s mining advocacy, framed the gathering as a deliberate “passing of the torch.”
“We want to demystify mining and remove the fear,” Chipangura said. “We don’t want to hear ‘pity parties.’ We went through hardships so these young girls don’t have to. We are leaving a legacy by mentoring the next generation to take the relay from us.”
