Mining companies must shift from corporate social responsibility to genuine corporate social investment, Minister of Mines and Mining Development Dr Polite Kambamura has said, as he presided over the graduation of 300 artisanal miners trained under a Mutapa Gold Resources-funded programme, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
Addressing a packed gathering at Magandi Park on Thursday, the Minister praised Mutapa Gold Resources for what he called “enlightened corporate citizenship in practice,” urging other mining houses to follow suit in supporting the formalisation of the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector.
“Allow me to formally thank Mutapa Gold Resources for this funding initiative. This is what enlightened corporate citizenship looks like in practice,” Kambamura said. “We need to move away from only corporate social responsibility to corporate social investment. This is a corporate investment that we are witnessing here. When these people are empowered, we have empowered our nation.”
Responsible Mining Initiative takes root
The Minister reminded the audience that the training programme, delivered in partnership with the Zimbabwe School of Mines, is deeply rooted in the government’s Responsible Mining Initiative launched in 2025.
“For too long, this sector has carried burdens no partner in development should carry alone: avoidable accidents, mercury contamination, poor mineral accountability, and exclusion from capital,” he said. “The principle of the Responsible Small-Scale Mining Programme we celebrate today was designed to close that gap.”
Under four pillars—safety, technical capability, environmental stewardship, and financial formalisation—300 miners received certificates that Kambamura described as “a passport for marriage,” indicating that his ministry takes the certification seriously as a prerequisite for formal operation.
In a major policy announcement, the Minister revealed that his ministry will soon introduce mining development officers positioned in each mining district across the country.
“Very soon, my ministry is coming up with an extended structure mirroring the tight domain of agriculture,” he said. “We are going to come up with mining development officers who will be positioned in each mining district to monitor, share expertise on mining, and also educate our miners on mining standards, mineral accountability, and other technical issues. It’s now time that we mine responsibly.”
He added that the programme witnessed in Chegutu serves as a blueprint for mobile mining schools that will be rolled out nationally across all provinces, including Mashonalands, Matabelelands, the Midlands, Manicaland, and Masvingo.
Formalisation a key pillar of Vision 2030
Kambamura underscored the strategic importance of the ASM sector, noting that it consistently delivers more than 60% of gold to Fidelity Gold Refinery and sustains hundreds of thousands of livelihoods.
“The artisanal small-scale mining sector is no longer a peripheral activity in our economy,” he said. “When we speak of the US$4 billion mining economy, when we speak of Vision 2030, and when we speak of the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), we are speaking of a future that cannot be built without this subsector.”
He reaffirmed the Second Republic’s commitment, under President Dr E.D. Mnangagwa, to formalising the ASM sector, calling it “a work in progress.”
Addressing the 300 graduates directly, the Minister said they were leaving with both knowledge and an obligation.
“The obligation to mine responsibly, to mine safely, avoiding substandard practices. The obligation to formalise, even when the informal path seems much easier. You are also obligated to share what you have learned with the colleague next to you, the young person in your village, and other colleagues.”
