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Gold buying prices per gram in Zimbabwe 25 February 2025

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Gold buying prices per gram in Zimbabwe 25 February 2025

Gold buying prices per gram in Zimbabwe today 25 February 2025, from the official gold buyer and exporter Fidelity Gold Refinery (FGR).

SG 90% and ABOVE US$89.07g
SG ABOVE 85% BUT BELOW 90% US$88.13g
SG ABOVE 80% BUT BELOW 85% US$87.19/g
SG ABOVE 75% BUT BELOW 80% US$86.25/g
SAMPLE BELOW 10g BUT ABOVE 5g US$84.83/g

Fire Assay CASH $89.54/g

NB: Fire Assay cash price is for gold above 100gs, no sample is deducted.
For the Fire Assay Transfer price, a sample of not more than 10g is deducted
A 2% royalty is charged on all deposits (Small-scale miners)
A 5% royalty is set for Primary Producers

Invictus Energy Faces Investor Skepticism as PPSA Delays Continue to Hinder Progress

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Invictus Energy Faces Investor Skepticism as PPSA Delays Continue to Hinder Progress
Australia Stock Exchange listed oil and gas exploration junior Invictus Energy which is exploring oil and gas in northern Zimbabwe’s Cabora Bassa Basin (Muzarabani-Mbire) is poised for a potentially transformative 2025, according to Managing Director Scott Macmillan. However, investors and stakeholders are growing increasingly skeptical about the company’s progress as delays in executing the Petroleum Product Sharing Agreement (PPSA) between Invictus and the Zimbabwean government persist, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
In his latest outlook for 2025, Macmillan outlined ambitious plans, including the advancement of the Mukuyu gas-to-power project, further exploration drilling, and a board visit to progress key initiatives. Yet, these updates have been met with frustration from stakeholders who are impatient for the finalization of the PPSA, which is seen as the cornerstone for ensuring the equitable sharing of value generated from the Cabora Bassa Project.
While Invictus Energy achieved significant exploration success in 2023, including two major gas discoveries at the Mukuyu field, the continued delay in finalizing the PPSA has cast a shadow over these milestones. The agreement, once executed, will not only secure long-term revenue-sharing terms for the Zimbabwean government but also unlock the regulatory framework needed to advance the country’s nascent oil and gas sector.
One stakeholder vented their frustration, commenting, “Blah, blah, blah – heard it all before. It is all about the PPSA. Nothing else matters right now.” Another echoed similar sentiments, “WHERE IS THE PPSA???? ALL TALK NO ACTION.”
The lack of tangible progress on the PPSA has sparked concerns about investor returns. One shareholder expressed their frustration, stating, “That outlook doesn’t include a return for investors!” The mounting skepticism highlights the increasing pressure on Invictus to deliver results beyond exploration success.
In response to the growing frustration, Macmillan has reassured stakeholders that the company is on the verge of finalizing the PPSA, calling the completed review by external European legal counsel a “major milestone” for Invictus. He emphasized that the PPSA would provide the robust governing framework necessary to ensure the long-term success of the Cabora Bassa Project.
“Once executed, the PPSA will ensure the long-term success of the Cabora Bassa Project, which has the potential to address the region’s growing demand for a reliable energy source,” Macmillan said.
The agreement, which will be key in attracting strategic partnerships and farm-out opportunities, is expected to be a game-changer for Zimbabwe’s energy security.
Looking ahead, Invictus Energy has a busy year planned, with Macmillan outlining several key initiatives, including the Masuma 1 well as the company’s next major exploration effort. This well will target the Dande play in eastern Cabora Bassa, which is estimated to have a recoverable prospective resource of over 1 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas and 73 million barrels of condensate.
In tandem with exploration activities, the company is pushing forward with its pilot gas-to-power project to provide energy to the nearby Eureka Gold Mine. This project is critical for Invictus, as it offers an opportunity to demonstrate the commercial viability of Zimbabwe’s fledgling gas industry.
Despite the ambitious plans, the unresolved PPSA remains a sticking point, and stakeholders are growing weary of the delays. Macmillan has promised to keep investors updated as the company continues to push for the execution of the PPSA and other key milestones in 2025.
While there is optimism about Invictus Energy’s long-term potential, many stakeholders remain focused on immediate concerns. As one shareholder bluntly put it, “Looking a bit tired of talking.” The general sentiment among investors suggests that action, particularly on the PPSA, is needed sooner rather than later to maintain confidence in the company’s trajectory.
The Cabora Bassa Project holds significant promise, with Invictus positioning itself as a major player in Zimbabwe’s energy landscape. However, the road to success will require navigating regulatory hurdles, securing strategic partnerships, and, most importantly, delivering on investor expectations.
As 2025 is ongoing, all eyes remain on whether Invictus can turn its exploration success into tangible commercial progress, starting with the long-awaited PPSA.

Zimplats Enhances Human Rights Practices Through MoU with Zimbabwe Republic Police

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Zimplats Enhances Human Rights Practices Through MoU with Zimbabwe Republic Police
Zimplats, Zimbabwe’s leading platinum group metals producer, has taken a significant step in strengthening its human rights practices by establishing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP).
By Ryan Chigoche
This agreement outlines the expected conduct for public security personnel interacting with Zimplats’ operations and surrounding communities, aiming to bridge the existing gap in human rights practices between the police and mining operations, ensuring respectful and lawful interactions.
This development  follows a comprehensive gap analysis commissioned by Implats, Zimplats’ parent company, to align security practices across all Group-managed sites with the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPSHRs).
The analysis focused on all Group-managed sites in the Southern Africa region, including Zimplats with the aim to identify the VPSHR-relevant management systems, processes, and practices of site-level private and public security providers, and to better understand site-level security risk exposure.
According to the company high-level outcomes from the gap analysis so far indicates that site-level private security providers’ practices are strongly aligned with the VPSHRs.
However, the alignment to the VPSHRs by public security forces, including the South African Police Service and the Zimbabwe Republic Police Services, is relatively weak. As a result the problem is investigating potential opportunities to share materials and training on VPSHRs with public security personnel.
These efforts are expected to positively impact Zimplats’ operations and its relationship with local communities. By fostering a culture of respect and accountability, Zimplats aims to mitigate potential human rights incidents and enhance its reputation as a responsible corporate entity.
As a going concern Zimplats in its committment to continuous improvement in its human rights practices the company plans to conduct an analysis of its human rights initiatives, with findings scheduled for completion in 2025.
This analysis will inform future strategies to further integrate human rights considerations into its operations.

Manhize Steel Plant Faces Environmental Backlash Over Coal Power Dependence

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Manhize Steel Plant Faces Environmental Backlash Over Coal Power Dependence
Zimbabwe’s ambitious Manhize Iron and Steel Plant in Mvuma, owned by China’s Dinson Iron and Steel Company, is drawing scrutiny for its environmental impact. While the $1.5 billion project, which aims to produce 1.2 million tonnes of steel annually, promises to boost industrial growth and steel exports, a recent report by South African Resource Watch warns that its heavy reliance on coal-generated power will significantly increase the country’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
By Ryan Chigoche
Steel production is an energy-intensive process, and Manhize’s furnaces will mainly depend on Hwange’s coal-generated electricity and coke to remove oxygen from iron ore.
This approach will substantially increase carbon emissions, missing an opportunity for Zimbabwe to produce ‘green steel’ using clean energy sources. Given Zimbabwe’s vast potential for renewable energy, particularly solar power, the report urges the government to incentivize investors to adopt renewable energy in steel production adding that doing so would align with the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) commitments to cut emissions by 40% by 2040.
“This is a missed opportunity for Zimbabwe to produce ‘green steel’ produced using clean energy, significantly reducing GHG emissions and mitigating environmental impact and global warming. Given the abundance of solar potential in Zimbabwe, the use of renewable energy is a possibility that the country must incentivise investors to adopt if it is to meet its NDC commitments to cut emissions by 40 per cent by 2040.”  the organization said.
International examples offer valuable insights for Zimbabwe. Sweden’s Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology (HYBRIT) project a collaboration between SSAB, LKAB, and Vattenfall aims to produce steel using hydrogen and renewable electricity. Similarly, H2 Green Steel, another Swedish initiative, plans to launch a large-scale, fossil-free steel plant in 2024. ArcelorMittal’s Smart Carbon and Innovative DRI projects also employ hydrogen-based reduction and carbon capture technologies to lower emissions. These approaches demonstrate how transitioning to green steel is both feasible and economically viable.
The report also highlights the potential for Zimbabwe to collaborate regionally. While hydrogen is not currently a key focus in Zimbabwe’s industrial strategy, neighboring countries such as Namibia and South Africa are developing export-oriented green hydrogen economies.
According to SARW Zimbabwe could integrate into this regional renewable energy supply chain through SADC cooperation and intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), positioning itself as a sustainable steel producer.

Unlike South Africa, which has incorporated Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) in its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2023 to mitigate coal reliance, Zimbabwe has yet to explore this technology.

 In the steel sector, CCUS captures CO2 emissions before they enter the atmosphere, storing them underground or repurposing them for industrial use. Incorporating such technologies could support Zimbabwe’s transition toward greener steel production while maintaining economic viability.

As a going concern, the report underscores that decarbonizing Zimbabwe’s steel industry presents both a challenge and an opportunity. While the Manhize Iron and Steel Plant is a major industrial project, its reliance on coal-based energy contradicts global sustainability trends.

By embracing renewable energy and adopting green hydrogen and CCUS technologies, Zimbabwe could align itself with global sustainability efforts and secure new market opportunities for green steel.

Kavango Sees Major Growth Potential for Hillside Gold Project with Modern Exploratio

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Kavango Sees Major Growth Potential for Hillside Gold Project with Modern Exploratio
London Stock Exchange-listed mining and exploration junior Kavango Resources is on the verge of transforming the Hillside Gold Project in Filabusi, as the company embarks on a series of modern exploration initiatives to unlock the site’s full potential, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
Speaking in a recent interview, CEO Ben Turney highlighted the project’s promising outlook, with significant improvements planned for 2025 and beyond.
Turney emphasized that Hillside, a 440-hectare block, encapsulates the vast opportunities that exist in Zimbabwe for modern exploration, particularly in the small-scale mining sector. The site, which has largely relied on outdated technology, offers Kavango a unique opportunity to apply international standards and introduce state-of-the-art mining practices to maximize gold production.
At present, Hillside produces around 1.5 kilograms of gold per month, generating over $100,000 in revenue. This production level is the result of small-scale operations that use 130-year-old stamp mills, a common sight in Zimbabwe’s artisanal mining sector. Despite these limitations, the company has made significant progress since beginning operations in March 2024.
Turney noted that even with these basic operations, Kavango has quickly demonstrated what is possible in Zimbabwe. With minimal capital expenditure, the company is already preparing to boost production further.
“Our immediate target is to increase production to between 3 to 5 kilograms per month by the first quarter of next year,” Turney said. “This will be achieved by operationalizing the 5-stamp mill, improving underground safety, and conducting proper underground development.”
Kavango’s vision for Hillside goes far beyond short-term gains. The company plans to install a 100-tonne-per-day processing plant sourced from South Africa by the end of Q2 2025. This modern facility will vastly improve the efficiency and scale of operations, with projections showing a potential monthly output of between 12 to 15 kilograms of gold once the plant is operational.
Turney explained that upgrading the plant, coupled with the development of underground mining capabilities, could cost the company around $2.5 million in total. This investment, which includes underground development and plant construction, will enable the company to triple its production by mid-2025.
“We expect to hit a major inflection point at this stage,” Turney added. “By that point, we’ll become profitable at the PLC level, covering all our costs in Zimbabwe and Botswana, and generating surplus revenue.”
Hillside serves as a key strategic asset for Kavango Resources, demonstrating the company’s ability to apply modern exploration techniques to small-scale projects and capitalize on Zimbabwe’s rich mineral resources. Turney highlighted the broader significance of this project, noting that the success at Hillside could be a model for future gold production projects across the country.
“Our work at Hillside encapsulates what’s possible in modern Zimbabwe,” Turney said. “We have the infrastructure, the workforce, and the opportunity to introduce international mining practices that will unlock large-scale gold production in a capital-constrained environment.”
With modern exploration, increased production capacity, and further capital investment, Kavango is well-positioned to transform Hillside into a leading gold production site in Zimbabwe, laying the foundation for long-term profitability and growth.
As Kavango continues to execute its ambitious plans for Hillside, the company’s ability to scale operations, modernize infrastructure, and achieve profitability will set it apart from other exploration companies in Zimbabwe and the wider region. By harnessing the site’s untapped potential, Kavango aims to bring Hillside to the forefront of Zimbabwe’s gold production industry by 2025.

Gold buying prices per gram in Zimbabwe 24 February 2025

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Gold buying prices per gram in Zimbabwe 24 February 2025

Gold buying prices per gram in Zimbabwe today 24 February 2025, from the official gold buyer and exporter Fidelity Gold Refinery (FGR).

SG 90% and ABOVE US$89.14g
SG ABOVE 89% BUT BELOW 90% US$88.20g
SG ABOVE 80% BUT BELOW 85% US$87.25/g
SG ABOVE 75% BUT BELOW 80% US$86.31/g
SAMPLE BELOW 10g BUT ABOVE 5g US$84.90/g

Fire Assay CASH $89.61/g

NB: Fire Assay cash price is for gold above 100gs, no sample is deducted.
For the Fire Assay Transfer price, a sample of not more than 10g is deducted
A 2% royalty is charged on all deposits (Small-scale miners)
A 5% royalty is set for Primary Producers

Mine Employees Face Armed Robbery Charges

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Mine Employees Face Armed Robbery Charges
Two employees of Thunderbird 42 Mine, owned by former Gweru councillor Charles Simbi, have appeared before the Gweru Magistrate Courts on armed robbery charges. Nyasha Osward Simbi, 27, and Alex Simbi, 42, both relatives of Charles Simbi, are among seven accused of carrying out an armed robbery at MT Mine in Gweru on February 8, 2025, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
Nyasha and Alex Simbi, both from Gweru, were allegedly part of a gang that stormed MT Mine at around 3 AM, armed with a pistol, machetes, and knobkerries, demanding cash and gold. The other accused are Kimton Sibanda, 25, Samu Sibanda, 24, Takudzwa Nyoni, 33, Hercluse Nhongo, 29, and Bright Ndlovu, 43, who are from various locations across Gweru, Lower Gwelo, Bulawayo, and Zhombe.
The seven were arrested a day later on February 9, 2025, and now face two counts of armed robbery and one count of assault. According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the group threatened two workers at MT Mine, Shepherd Kutse and Norman Mahlani, with a pistol and knobkerries before assaulting them with machetes. During the attack, the suspects allegedly stole a Samsung A33 from Kutse and a Samsung S23 from Mahlani.
In a separate incident, the gang is also accused of assaulting Stephen Ndlovu with machetes and knobkerries, demanding cash and gold. Although Ndlovu managed to escape, he sustained a deep cut on his left leg during the attack.
Witnesses and victims identified the suspects, leading to their arrest. The accused were remanded in custody until February 25, 2025, and are being represented by lawyer Esau Mandipa of Mandipa, Makwara, and Chikukwa Legal Practitioners.
In addition to this case, Charles Simbi, the owner of Thunderbird 42 Mine and father of one of the accused, is facing separate fraud charges related to the alleged forgery of land ownership documents with his wife, Zodwa Thembinkosi, to seize mining claims near Gweru.

Gold buying prices per gram in Zimbabwe 22 February 2025

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Gold buying prices per gram in Zimbabwe 22 February 2025

Gold buying prices per gram in Zimbabwe today 22 February 2025, from the official gold buyer and exporter Fidelity Gold Refinery (FGR).

SG 90% and ABOVE US$89.14g
SG ABOVE 85% BUT BELOW 90% US$88.20g
SG ABOVE 80% BUT BELOW 85% US$87.25/g
SG ABOVE 75% BUT BELOW 80% US$86.31/g
SAMPLE BELOW 10g BUT ABOVE 5g US$84.90/g

Fire Assay CASH $89.61/g

NB: Fire Assay cash price is for gold above 100gs, no sample is deducted.
For the Fire Assay Transfer price, a sample of not more than 10g is deducted
A 2% royalty is charged on all deposits (Small-scale miners)
A 5% royalty is set for Primary Producers

Cash available. Fidelity Gold Refinery prices will be changing daily to match the world market.

Spend Analysis and Enterprise Resource Planning Tools (ERPs)

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Spend Analysis and Enterprise Resource Planning Tools (ERPs)

“Where your money is going, that’s where your heart and mind ought to be as well.”

By Emmanuel Nzombe (MCIPS | CIPP)

In my inaugural installment on Strategic Sourcing, I mentioned spend visibility as one of the key benefits of Strategic Sourcing. In this article, I zoom in on the subject of Spend Analysis more closely as a way of achieving greater visibility.

What is Spend Analysis?

This refers to the process of extracting, cleaning, enriching, classifying, and evaluating historical spend data with a view to bringing out insights into the business’s spend footprint. These insights become the objective basis for making strategic decisions for the business.

Why Spend Analysis?

The business environment is increasingly becoming riskier, with the costs of externally sourced goods and services spiralling out of control, revenues constantly being squeezed, and corporate survival becoming much more difficult to guarantee. Given the nexus between business spend and profits, the focus is now on spending smarter through data-driven sourcing decisions as opposed to guesswork and ill-informed assumptions. Our wits alone, no matter how sharp, can no longer be trusted to lead us into making the right business decisions at all times. Having intimate knowledge and visibility into where and how the business is spending money, down to the tiniest detail, is invaluable.

By laying bare the business spend, it becomes much easier to discern the proverbial “silver lining” of cost-saving opportunities that typically lie hidden and untapped within otherwise disorganized spend data. At the same time, it will also expose the “can of worms” that would otherwise gnaw away at your profits silently and often undetected—until it is too late. As I quoted in the previous article, “If you torture the data, it will confess.” Rogue spending behavior will be revealed, highlighting where the business is receiving suboptimal value from its suppliers, exposing areas where bargaining power is not being fully leveraged, and uncovering irregularities and flaws in procurement processes, among other issues. These “confessions” will then prompt you to ask probing, investigative questions about your spending patterns, leading to deeper insights that enable you to spend more judiciously and achieve significant cost savings.

Why Your ERP Matters

Your ERP—Enterprise Resource Planning tool—is your primary source of spend data, from which useful insights will be derived to guide sound decision-making. This makes it a “gold mine” that, when leveraged, can generate immense strategic value. The ERP houses your taxonomy, which in turn determines the content and quality of spend data. Therefore, choosing the right ERP, best tailored to your business, is just as important as the information and insights you need to make sound decisions.

One of the gravest mistakes corporates make when choosing an ERP is the failure or inability to clearly define the value outcomes they want or expect from the system, or not properly aligning those outcomes with the strategic goals of the business. What they end up with is not a robust ERP but merely a rudimentary “mechanism” for capturing and storing basic or shallow transactional data, which barely addresses the mission-critical KPIs of the business.

A good ERP must elicit not only pertinent and content-rich data but also data that comes in a form readily amenable to granular and exhaustive spend analysis. All the data relevant to your KPIs—those you want to measure and track—must be embedded within the ERP right from the onset. Remember, every bit of relevant data missing from your spend reports means it was not built into the ERP from the beginning. This creates an information gap that will need to be filled manually to enrich the data. Not only does this consume time, but it can also compromise data integrity and the quality of all subsequent outputs. Conversely, irrelevant data adds unnecessary volume to spend reports, further complicating and lengthening the data cleaning and preparation process.

Care must be taken to ensure the ERP is not ironclad—addressing only current business information needs while ignoring ever-evolving future business needs—lest you be forced to purchase a new ERP.

Determining an Appropriate Taxonomy

Determining a taxonomy best tailored to your business is an essential prerequisite for meaningful and exhaustive spend analysis. A taxonomy acts as a framework under which spend data accumulates in the ERP and from which the KPIs your business seeks to track will be derived. It determines the content and quality of the data you will extract from the ERP.

The depth of your taxonomy determines the level of granularity of spend analysis that can be conducted. The more comprehensive the taxonomy, the greater the depth and granularity of the analysis, and the richer the insights derived. Conversely, the shallower the taxonomy, the scantier the data and the poorer and more misleading the insights.

Therefore, it is essential to think ahead and determine your information needs before creating the taxonomy by asking yourself:

  • What KPIs of the business do we need to measure and track?
  • How and to what depth do we want to measure them?
  • What data do we need to effectively measure them?

Just like any system with inputs, processing, and outputs, the quality of the data input underpins the efficiency of the analysis process and, consequently, the quality of the insights. One of the key challenges in spend analysis is cleaning and sifting through the data to remove unnecessary or irrelevant “chaff”—hence the need to begin with the end goal in mind. This allows you to work backward with clarity to determine the most appropriate taxonomy best suited to your business’s specific needs.

What to Analyze and Why?

The parameters of spend analysis vary widely from business to business, depending on the industry, strategic goals, and specific information needs. For example, the parameters of a manufacturing or mining firm may differ in some aspects from those of a hospitality firm.

The best spend analysis should be guided by the business’s strategic priorities. After all, the essence of strategic sourcing (of which spend analysis is a key component) is to align sourcing activities with business objectives.

Some common key dimensions of business spend analysis include:

1. Spend per Category of Goods and Services

Analyzing spend data by broad categories provides a “helicopter” view of how money is allocated across key cost centres. This is particularly useful for C-suite executives who may not have time to dive into granular spend details. It highlights strategic spending priorities and helps procurement teams focus on categories that offer the greatest cost-saving opportunities.

2. Spend by Key Individual Commodities or Products

High-level analysis alone masks detailed spending patterns. A deep dive into individual commodities within each category reveals which products drive business spend the most, their frequency of purchase (trend analysis), pricing, suppliers, and standardization opportunities.

3. Spend by Supplier

Analyzing spend data by supplier identifies key strategic suppliers, over-reliance risks, and potential areas for supplier diversification or consolidation. This ensures the business optimally leverages supply market opportunities.

4. Spend Over a Defined Period

Some business expenses follow cyclical trends. Analyzing spend over time helps predict future spending patterns, align inventory levels with business activity cycles, and avoid costly overstocking or understocking.

5. Pareto Analysis

Cost optimization efforts must be strategic, not random. The Pareto Principle (80/20 rule) helps focus on the vital few categories, suppliers, or products that drive the majority of costs, ensuring that optimization efforts yield the most significant value.

Conclusion

Business spend analysis must be the pivot around which strategic decisions are made. The era of relying solely on expert opinions to determine competitive advantage is long gone. Objectivity—based on accurate, high-quality data—should be the norm, not the exception.

Views expressed in this article reflect the personal opinions and experience of the writer.
Send feedback to [email protected]. WhatsApp: +263 77 643 9591

Five Trapped at Etina Mine After Tunnel Collapse

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Five Trapped at Etina Mine After Tunnel Collapse

Five miners have been trapped at a small-scale mine in Etina, Mashonaland West Province, following the collapse of a mining shaft due to heavy rains. Rescue operations are underway, with excavators already on the ground, but progress has been hindered by the difficult conditions caused by continuous rainfall, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Rudairo Mapuranga

The Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) Mashonaland West Province Chairman, Timothy Chizuzu, confirmed the incident and expressed concern over the challenging circumstances.

Timothy Chizuzu
Timothy Chizuzu

“The situation is very difficult due to the heavy rains, but efforts are being made to retrieve the miners. We hope to reach them soon,” said Chizuzu.

The mine owner, Sebastian Magodo, explained that the shaft collapsed, causing the tunnel to divide and trapping some miners underground.

“There is no full report yet on what transpired, as we are waiting for rescue operations to be completed. What we know so far is that a shaft used by miners to access the underground subsided because of the rains. Some miners have already managed to come out, but others remain trapped,” said Magodo.

This tragic incident has cast a spotlight on the dangers faced by small-scale miners in Zimbabwe, especially during the rainy season when the ground becomes unstable. The ongoing rescue operation is focused on retrieving the trapped miners as quickly as possible, but the difficult weather conditions have made the process more challenging.

This accident comes just days after a similar tragedy in Kwekwe, where three miners lost their lives at Yellowsnake 37 Mine. The miners were crushed when a safety hook fastening the rope to a cage they were using to exit the shaft broke, causing the cage to fall down the shaft and overturn. The victims were retrieved and taken to Kwekwe General Hospital for post-mortem examinations.

In that incident, ZRP Spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed, “The victims had entered the mine shaft using a cage. As they were getting out, a safety hook fastening the rope broke, resulting in the cage falling and overturning, crushing the victims.”

The Kwekwe accident highlights the ongoing safety concerns in Zimbabwe’s artisanal and small-scale mining sector, where inadequate safety measures often result in loss of life. Authorities have called for enhanced safety precautions to prevent future tragedies—a call that resonates in the wake of the current Etina Mine incident.

The recent accidents at Etina and Yellowsnake Mines emphasize the urgent need for improved safety protocols in small-scale mining operations across Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) has been advocating for stricter safety measures and compliance among artisanal miners, but the sector remains fraught with risks, particularly during the rainy season when tunnel collapses become more frequent.

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