- Government Moves to Overhaul Mining Loan Fund to Widen Access for Small-Scale Miners
The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has begun overhauling the Mining Industry Loan Fund (MILF), with authorities reviewing its mandate and lending criteria in a bid to make the facility more accessible to Zimbabwe’s artisanal and small-scale miners, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Ryan Chigoche
The review targets a long-standing financing gap that has left many miners unable to secure affordable capital for mechanisation, mine development, and business expansion despite the sector’s growing contribution to national gold production.
Speaking to Mining Zimbabwe, Mining Industry Loan Fund Manager Ranga Mhazo said reforming the facility had become an urgent priority to ensure it better reflects the realities of Zimbabwe’s mining sector.
“The transformation of the fund is critical and very urgent,” Mhazo said. “We are reviewing the mandate of the fund as well as the eligibility criteria so that it becomes more inclusive and removes many of the challenges faced by our miners. At the same time, we must remember that this is a revolving fund and beneficiaries have to repay their loans so that the fund remains sustainable.”
The Mining Industry Loan Fund was established to provide affordable financing and equipment to small-scale miners, helping them develop into medium- and eventually large-scale operations. However, miners have for years complained that restrictive eligibility requirements, limited funding, and cumbersome application processes have prevented many deserving operators from accessing the facility.
The latest review builds on previous government efforts to strengthen the fund, including a US$5 million recapitalisation aimed at increasing lending capacity. Authorities now hope that revising the fund’s operational framework will improve its effectiveness and broaden its reach.
The reforms come at a time when access to affordable finance remains one of the biggest constraints facing Zimbabwe’s artisanal and small-scale mining sector. Limited access to capital has restricted investment in modern equipment, mine development, exploration, and safer mining technologies, slowing efforts to improve productivity and formalise mining operations.
The reforms are expected to support the government’s broader efforts to formalise the artisanal and small-scale mining sector, which consistently accounts for the majority of Zimbabwe’s gold deliveries to Fidelity Gold Refinery but continues to face significant financing constraints.
If successfully implemented, the overhaul could widen access to government-backed funding, helping miners invest in equipment, improve productivity, and build more formal and sustainable mining businesses.
