During a media visit to Fidelity Gold Refinery (FGR)‘s Shamva Buying Centre, Mining Zimbabwe got an opportunity to see how the gold buying process works, from the moment miners bring in their gold to the final approval and payment.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
The visit provided a closer look at the checks carried out at each stage to ensure that gold is properly verified, weighed and assayed before sellers receive their payment.
FGR’s Shamva Gold Buying Officer Tafara Ndiya explained that the process starts with security screening before customers are allowed into the centre. New sellers must first go through customer profiling and registration, submitting the required documents for approval before they can sell their gold.
For regular customers, the process is more straightforward, as they can proceed directly to the buying stage. New customers, however, must complete registration and receive clearance before their gold can be accepted.
Once cleared, the customer presents their gold to a buying clerk, who first carries out a magnet test to check for any iron content. The gold is then weighed, with the customer required to confirm the recorded weight before the transaction moves to the next stage.
The gold is subsequently assayed using the specific gravity (SG) method to establish its quality. The results, together with other transaction details, are entered into the centre’s system.
A receipt is then generated and signed by the buying clerk, the Gold Buying Officer and the customer, providing a record of the transaction.
From there, the transaction goes through several approval stages involving the buying clerk, Gold Buying Officer and payment clerk.
Ndiya explained that he first approves the transaction before the payment clerk processes the payment. A further approval is then required before the money is released to the customer.
“The clerk will do his work, then the Gold Buying Officer, in this case myself, will do the approvals. After that, the payment clerk will also process the payment. I will also again do the payment approvals,” Ndiya said.
He emphasised that customers and FGR agree to the recorded weight and assay results before the transaction proceeds. The signing of the receipt also ensures that both the customer and the centre have a documented record of the sale.
The visit offered a practical look at the various checks involved in selling gold at the 29 Buying Centres dotted across the country.
