ASM, Large Scale Mining Can Coexist, Pickstone Peerless Shows the Way
A model of coexistence between large-scale mining operations and artisanal small-scale miners is emerging at Pickstone Peerless Mine, offering a blueprint for resolving one of Zimbabwe’s most persistent mining sector challenges, Association of Mine Surveyors of Zimbabwe (AMSZ) President Stewart Gumbi has said.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
Speaking to Mining Zimbabwe on the sidelines of the AMSZ first-quarter technical visit hosted at the Dallaglio-owned mine, Gumbi highlighted the operation’s arrangements with small-scale miners as a notable example of how competing interests can be managed safely and productively.
“We’ve also learned that there can be coexistence between large-scale operations and small-scale miners,” Gumbi said. “These people are a living example of that, and we’ve noted some arrangements of how they can ensure that the small-scale miners do not interfere with large-scale operations.”
He said Pickstone has implemented measures to reduce risk, ensuring that small-scale miners do not accidentally encroach into the mine’s workings or cause incidents related to accidental blasting.
“They’ve demonstrated that they have considered all these issues, and they are doing certain procedures to make sure that both parties are safe,” Gumbi added.
The Pickstone model comes at a critical juncture for Zimbabwe’s mining sector. Artisanal and small-scale miners now account for more than 60% of gold deliveries to Fidelity Printers and Refiners, contributing approximately 12% of the country’s gross domestic product and the bulk of foreign exchange earnings. An estimated 500,000 Zimbabweans are engaged in artisanal and small-scale mining, extracting gold, lithium, diamonds, platinum group metals, chrome, cobalt, copper, iron ore, tin, and gemstones.
Yet the sector has long operated in a precarious space, with miners facing severe health and safety risks. Many lack proper personal protective equipment, exposing them to toxic substances like mercury, which harms lungs, skin, and eyes while polluting air, water, and soil. Poorly ventilated pits increase the risk of lung diseases such as silicosis and pneumonia. Deep shafts, some reaching 40 meters, are prone to collapses and flooding, often resulting in injuries or deaths.
Zimbabwe’s mining death toll reached 237 fatalities in 2023, the worst in over five decades, prompting urgent calls for life-saving interventions, including proper drainage systems, reinforced mine supports, and real-time weather monitoring.
In response to these challenges, the government has introduced sweeping reforms aimed at formalising the sector. Since 1 July 2025, the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has enforced a strict directive requiring all prospecting, pegging, and registration applications to be accompanied by survey-grade coordinates produced by a registered and certified surveyor.
The directive effectively bans the use of handheld GPS devices for pegging claims, a practice long associated with imprecise boundaries and overlapping titles that have fueled disputes, double allocations, and, in some cases, violent confrontations among miners. Miners must now engage licensed surveyors registered in the Ministry of Mines database who are paid-up members of AMSZ.
“We commend the Ministry for recognising the role of professional surveyors in bringing integrity to pegging processes,” Gumbi said when the directive was announced. “Our members are qualified and trained to provide precise geospatial data. This decision also protects miners, it ensures their claims are legally defensible and georeferenced in the national system.”
The Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) has urged all artisanal and small-scale miners to promptly engage registered mine surveyors to avoid operational disruptions, formalising a partnership with AMSZ to support implementation of the government’s Mining Cadastre Information Management System.
“This collaboration is a direct response to the government’s new mandate requiring all mining title holders to submit accurate surveyed coordinates for their claims as part of the Mining Cadastre Information Management System, a critical step in formalising Zimbabwe’s ASM sector,” the ZMF said in a statement.
Both organisations agreed to develop a standardised tariff schedule for surveying services tailored to typical small-scale claim sizes, a move designed to prevent overcharging and ensure affordability for miners.
The Pickstone Peerless model demonstrates that structured coexistence is not only possible but beneficial. For artisanal miners, formalisation through such arrangements offers a pathway to safer working conditions, improved wages, and better access to financing. For large-scale operators, it reduces the risk of boundary disputes and accidental encroachments that can disrupt production and create safety hazards.
Gumbi noted that the technical visit itself provided an opportunity for surveyors to exchange ideas on executing the cadastral exercise and ensuring the continued delivery of the best results for the government mandate bestowed on mining surveyors.
“Surveyors had a lot of exchange and interchange that they did at this technical visit,” he said.
As Zimbabwe pushes forward with mining reforms and the rollout of a digital cadastre, the insistence on survey-grade coordinates marks a turning point for governance in the sector. It signals the end of an era dominated by informal practices and boundary confusion and the beginning of a more professional and transparent mining environment.
Pickstone Peerless, with its demonstrated coexistence model, stands as an example of what is possible when large-scale operators and small-scale miners find common ground.
