Mining ZimbabweLatest Mining News, Policy and Industry Updates

The Mining Industry Pension Fund (MIPF) saw contribution collections plunge to just 44% in 2025, highlighting mounting pressure on the pension scheme despite strong investment returns and a funding position that remains above regulatory requirements, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Ryan Chigoche

Presenting the Fund’s performance at its recent Annual General Meeting, MIPF Principal Officer Anymore Taruvinga said the sharp decline was largely driven by non-remittance by some mining employers.

The shortfall has emerged as one of the Fund’s most pressing concerns, constraining liquidity, limiting investment growth, and raising risks to the long-term sustainability of member benefits.

In response, MIPF has rolled out a revised recovery plan aimed at improving compliance and boosting contribution inflows. The measures include tighter reporting cycles, direct engagement with defaulting employers, and stronger escalation procedures for repeat offenders. Members have also been encouraged to report cases of non-remittance directly to the Fund as it seeks to protect retirement savings.

While both the Accumulated Fund and Assets Under Management recorded significant growth, rising to US$318.056 million and US$310.556 million respectively in the first quarter of 2026 from US$267.623 million and US$260.680 million at the end of 2025, bolstered by strong investment returns, the real strain is laid bare elsewhere.

Contribution collections plunging to just 44% and a funding level that dropped to 116% from 160% a year earlier highlight the mounting pressures on liquidity and long-term sustainability.

However, despite these pressures, MIPF remains financially resilient. The 2025 actuarial valuation confirmed a funding level of 116%, down from 160% a year earlier but still comfortably above the minimum solvency threshold of 100%. Investment returns reached 23.27% in 2025 and were 17.80% in the first quarter of 2026.

That performance meant the Fund continued to deliver tangible value for members. Sub-account 1 received a declared bonus of 19.86% and a pension increase of 18.32%, while Sub-account 2 received a bonus of 47.76% and a pension increase of 39.42%.

While collections remain the immediate challenge, MIPF is also confronting pressures within its investment portfolio. Property accounted for 50% of total investments at the end of 2025, leaving the Fund particularly exposed to the effects of urban decay on some of its central business district assets.

Rather than retreating from the sector, the Fund is investing in developments designed to strengthen future income streams and unlock value from its property portfolio. The Chinhoyi Students’ Accommodation Project is 79% complete and targeted for completion in August 2026. Similarly, the Gokwe Shopping Mall has reached 74% completion and is scheduled for delivery during the same month.

MIPF is also generating near-term cash flows through the sale of 220 residential stands under the Impali development, which comprises 156 high-density and 64 low-density stands. The Fund said it remains ready to implement compensation measures related to pre-2009 loss-of-value claims once regulatory guidance is issued.

Operational Reforms and Member Support Initiatives

Beyond collections and property, MIPF is pursuing operational reforms aimed at improving member services and controlling costs. Benefit structures are under review to address low pension values. System upgrades are expected to reduce claims processing times. Awareness campaigns are also being intensified to attract mineworkers who are not yet members of the scheme.

The Fund continued to support members through its Assisted Member Mortgage Scheme, disbursing US$3.16 million to 222 members and ZWG18.79 million to a further 809 beneficiaries during the period under review. This homeownership initiative is specifically aimed at helping members secure property, ensuring they have a roof over their heads by retirement.

To further bolster member welfare, the Fund introduced a Pensioners’ Micro Loan Scheme, which provides pensioners with accessible funds for small-scale projects to supplement their pension income. Additionally, MIPF delivers ongoing value by making quarterly USD payments to pensioners, which are paid out over and above the standard monthly pensions.

Looking ahead, MIPF’s ability to sustain its strong investment performance will depend in part on reversing the decline in contribution collections. Although the Fund remains well funded and continues to generate positive returns, management believes stronger employer compliance will be critical to protecting member benefits and ensuring the scheme’s long-term sustainability.

The Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) will host an environmental awareness meeting for artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM) on Tuesday at the Magaya Mining Site in Gadzema, Chegutu, with First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa as the guest of honour, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Rudairo Mapuranga

The event, organised in conjunction with Magaya Mining, underscores growing political and regulatory pressure on a sector that has become a double-edged sword for the economy.

The ASM sector now contributes over 60% of Zimbabwe’s gold deliveries to Fidelity Gold Refinery and sustains an estimated 1.5 million livelihoods through direct and indirect employment. Yet, this economic lifeline operates largely outside the law. ZMF estimates there are more than one million ASM operators in the country, with approximately 85% unregistered.

The environmental toll has been severe. A 2025 study found that mercury use has caused “severe contamination of water bodies”, while land clearing for mining has led to “severe deforestation, loss of biodiversity, and declining agricultural productivity”. Across Zimbabwe, an estimated 96% of artisanal gold mine sites still rely on mercury, and the sector releases more than 24 tonnes of mercury into ecosystems annually.

In response, the government gazetted the Mines and Minerals Bill in June 2025, a long-awaited reform to replace the 1961 Act. The Bill explicitly prioritises the formalisation of artisanal mining and the alignment of mining activities with environmental and social safeguards. Meanwhile, ZMF has launched a “Gold Card” biometric ID system to bring informal miners into a verifiable national database, aiming to transition the sector “from informal survival to professional, profitable and safe businesses”.

The June 16 gathering at the Magaya Mining Site will see the First Lady—who has previously engaged illegal panners on tree planting and land rehabilitation—emphasise the need for sustainable practices in an industry that now accounts for more than 45% of Zimbabwe’s foreign currency inflows.

Padenga Holdings, the parent company of Dallaglio Investments, has put its search for new gold assets on hold. The group’s chairman has warned that a speculative frenzy, fuelled by record bullion prices, has made claims prohibitively expensive, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Ryan Chigoche

Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting in the capital recently, chairman Thembinkosi Sibanda said sellers are demanding unrealistic valuations, forcing the group to prioritise organic growth over external deals.

“Although we haven’t got one we can speak of today, there’s always overpricing in this game at this point in time because everybody thinks gold is doing so well,” the chairman said.

“And so they expect gold assets to be overpriced. We’ve said it’s not a good time to be in the market trying to purchase claims or anything like that because you’re going to be asked to pay more than they’re worth.”

Gold surged past US$5,000 per ounce in early 2026, extending a rally that saw prices close 2025 at US$4,332.59, up sharply from US$2,690.13 in 2024. The rally has attracted speculative capital into Zimbabwe’s mining sector, inflating the value of mineral claims and exploration properties.

Rather than chase overvalued targets, Padenga is shifting its focus to its existing operations. The group runs its mining business through Dallaglio Investments, which operates the Eureka and Pickstone Peerless mines.

“So the strategy the CEO has outlined is to develop, further grow, and expand our existing operations,” the chairman said. “We already know what resources are there. It just requires more capital to continue development.”

Padenga completed the full acquisition of Dallaglio in the first quarter of 2025, having taken an initial 50.1% stake in 2019 before acquiring the remaining 49.9%. The mining unit now accounts for 94% of group turnover, up from 86% in 2024, underscoring the company’s complete transformation from its origins as a crocodile farming business.

The group’s financial performance has been robust. For the year ended 31 December 2025, revenue rose 26% to US$265.82 million, while profit after tax nearly doubled, increasing 93.5% to US$70.7 million. Padenga has budgeted US$17 million for mining exploration in 2026, targeting resource expansion at its existing claims rather than external acquisitions.

The decision to pause acquisitions does not signal a retreat from gold. At Pickstone Peerless, a US$15 million investment is expected to boost output by 26%, while a pit redesign at Eureka is projected to add 15 tonnes of gold and extend the mine’s life to 2039. The group’s market capitalisation now stands at US$1.04 billion, making it Zimbabwe’s second most valuable listed company.

If market conditions normalise, Padenga may revisit external acquisitions. Chief Finance Officer Oliver Kamundimu said last month that the company is actively scouting for “correctly priced gold assets” across Zimbabwe. For now, however, discipline has prevailed over expansion.

That restraint is underpinned by a solid foundation. Dallaglio Investments’ gold portfolio comprises the producing Pickstone Peerless Mine near Chegutu and the Eureka Gold Mine in Guruve, alongside the Giant Gold Claims, which provide additional exploration and resource growth potential. Pickstone serves as the company’s flagship operation, while Eureka was successfully revived after years on care and maintenance, adding a second producing asset to the portfolio.

Together with the Giant Claims and associated exploration ground, these assets have established Dallaglio as one of Zimbabwe’s leading large-scale gold producers, with a strategy centred on both operational growth and resource expansion.

Thanks to improved performance at these assets, the company reported a strong production- and price-driven performance for the first quarter of 2026, with gold output rising 13% to 697kg from 618.9kg in the comparable prior-year period.

Zimbabwe’s enforcement of local beneficiation laws has emerged as a major force in the global lithium market, helping to tighten supply, reshape trade flows, and support a sustained price recovery, according to a recent report by Skillings Mining Review, a century-old research firm specialising in the extractive sector.

By Ryan Chigoche

The report describes the country’s February 2026 ban on raw lithium ore exports as a “Zimbabwean gambit” that removed significant volumes of high-grade material from the spot market, forcing buyers to adjust procurement strategies and accelerating investment in downstream processing.

Battery-grade lithium carbonate prices have since rebounded from late-2025 lows of about US$13,400 per tonne to a more stable range of US$22,000 to US$26,000 per tonne by June 2026. The review attributes part of that recovery to a tighter supply environment created by Zimbabwe’s policy intervention.

According to the report, the market has become increasingly sensitive to export restrictions. Enforcement of local processing requirements has curtailed raw ore exports and compelled producers to shift towards domestic value addition, often requiring substantial capital investment.

The analysis identifies three immediate consequences. Chinese refineries that depended on Zimbabwean feedstock have faced supply shortages, creating what it describes as “internal friction” across supply chains. At the same time, restrictions have largely eliminated informal artisanal exports that previously acted as an unpredictable source of additional supply during the 2024–25 market glut.

Producers operating in Zimbabwe are also being pushed towards what the report terms a “refine or resign” model, requiring meaningful commitments to local processing capacity ahead of the 2027 compliance deadline.

Those changes are beginning to show up in global supply-demand balances. In its Lithium’s Supply-Chain Shock analysis, the publication argues that Zimbabwe’s restrictions have helped tip the market from surplus into deficit, alongside rising battery energy storage system (BESS) demand and production curtailments in Australia.

Data cited in the report shows the lithium market moved into a deficit of 4,500 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) during the first quarter of 2026 following the partial export ban. The deficit widened to 7,200 tonnes in the second quarter after stricter quotas were introduced and is projected to peak at 10,100 tonnes in the third quarter before easing slightly as new sulphate processing capacity comes online.

Overall, the market is expected to swing from a surplus of 61,000 tonnes in 2025 to a deficit of 22,000 tonnes this year, based on data compiled from BMI, UBS, and Skillings Market Intelligence. New supply additions are forecast to decline from 185,000 tonnes last year to 110,000 tonnes in 2026.

The report further argues that Zimbabwe’s beneficiation drive, combined with growing efforts by the United States and European Union to secure critical mineral supply chains, is contributing to a more fragmented global lithium market.

Reflecting that shift, the publication has raised its 2026 lithium price baseline to US$18,200 per tonne, citing Zimbabwe’s export restrictions as a key factor. It projects a bull-case scenario of US$22,800 per tonne should additional geopolitical disruptions emerge. Current prices, the report notes, appear to have settled around a “clearing price” that sustains efficient producers while discouraging higher-cost supply from re-entering the market too quickly.

For Zimbabwe, the focus is now shifting from policy implementation to execution. As the market increasingly rewards reliable, high-purity production, the country’s ability to convert its resource advantage into processed lithium products will depend on overcoming infrastructure constraints, particularly a power deficit that continues to exceed 1,000 MW.

The report concludes that expectations of a prolonged lithium oversupply underestimated both the pace of the global energy transition and the influence of policy interventions. Zimbabwe’s beneficiation strategy, it suggests, has become one of the clearest examples of how resource-rich countries can influence global commodity markets by moving further up the value chain.

CEO Maseva-Shayawabaya Says Payout Is ‘First of Many’ as Miner Targets 570kg Monthly Output

Mutapa Gold Resources Ltd., the gold mining vehicle restructured under Zimbabwe’s sovereign wealth fund, has declared a US$35 million dividend, its first since inception in January, with the bulk of the payout flowing to its parent, Mutapa Investment Fund, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Rudairo Mapuranga

The dividend, representing half of the US$70 million after-tax profit recorded for the nine months to December 2025, was paid last week following board approval. The company changed its financial year-end to December to align with the sovereign fund.

“Shareholders invest money to make money,” Chief Executive Officer Patrick Maseva-Shayawabaya told shareholders at the company’s inaugural briefing. “Delivery is ultimately about return on investment. We are delighted that this is the first of many dividends.”

The US$35 million payout was distributed according to shareholding:

• Mutapa Investment Fund – US$22,050,000
• CBZ Bank – US$4,375,000
• National Venture Capital Company of Zimbabwe – US$2,625,000
• Public Service Pension Fund – US$2,450,000
• Insurance and Pension Commission – US$1,750,000
• Deposit Protection Corporation – US$1,750,000

The dividend comes despite operational headwinds. For the 12 months to March 2026, Mutapa produced 3,266 kilograms (104,626 ounces) of gold from its three operating mines—Freda Rebecca, Shamva, and Jena—down from 3,600 kilograms a year earlier due to lower grades at Freda and Shamva.

Revenue for the nine months to December reached US$271 million, with a gross margin of 60%. For the quarter ended March 2026, revenue was US$144 million, although the margin narrowed to 34%.

Expansion Push

The company is now betting on a US$152 million project at Shamva Hill to develop a new open-pit mine and processing plant, lifting Shamva’s output from 66 kilograms to 200 kilograms per month. Local banks have pledged up to US$90 million.

At Jena, described by Maseva-Shayawabaya as a “rough diamond”, output has risen from 30 to 40 kilograms per month following a US$2 million intervention. Management sees a path to 100 kilograms per month.

Freda Rebecca, currently producing 200 kilograms per month, has only four years of remaining mine life, below the company’s 10-year threshold. Extensive drilling—46,000 metres completed in the past year, with 81,000 metres planned—is aimed at extending reserves.

Once Shamva stops trucking ore to Freda’s plant, the freed-up capacity could lift Freda’s production to 270 kilograms per month, the CEO said.

For the 2026 calendar year, Mutapa forecasts production of 3,400 kilograms (110,000 ounces). At current gold prices of around US$4,100 per ounce, revenue would be approximately US$500 million, with profit before tax of about US$200 million.

“If we hit 570 kilograms per month within three years, today’s US$35 million dividend will pale in significance compared to what we pay in 2028,” Maseva-Shayawabaya said.

Premier African Minerals Ltd. has raised another $1.07 million (£800,000) through the issuance of 4 billion new shares, just one day after announcing the production of its first spodumene concentrate from the long-struggling Zulu Lithium Project in Fort Rixon, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Rudairo Mapuranga

The milestone, while genuine, comes at a cost that existing shareholders know all too well: more dilution.

The London-listed miner issued the shares at 0.02 pence each, a slight improvement from the 0.0185 pence used in previous fundraisings, but still a fraction of a penny. Following the subscription, Premier’s total issued share capital will reach 43.3 billion ordinary shares.

Let that number settle. Forty-three billion shares. And the company still needed to raise just over $1 million to fund ongoing optimisation and working capital.

First Concentrate, But No Cash Yet

On 10 June, Premier announced that it had produced its first spodumene concentrate from the newly commissioned Xinhai flotation plant, a genuine operational breakthrough after years of failed circuits and mounting creditor pressures. Managing Director Graham Hill called it an “important operational milestone” and said the plant is operating and producing as expected.

But first concentrate is not commercial production. Optimisation continues. Operating parameters need refining. And the company still has not generated a single dollar in revenue from sales. Until concentrate is shipped, processed, and paid for, Zulu remains a cash incinerator.

The Dilution Never Stops

The maths is brutal. In just over six months, Premier’s share count has gone from roughly 9.35 billion to 43.3 billion, an increase of more than four and a half times. An investor who held 1% of the company in November 2025 now holds less than 0.22%. Their stake has been diluted by nearly 78%, and that is before today’s 4 billion shares are even admitted to trading.

The company says the funds will support ongoing optimisation, operating expenses, creditor management, and general working capital. In other words, even after achieving first concentrate, Premier cannot pay its bills without issuing more shares.

The Export Ban Remains Unresolved

Zimbabwe’s government suspended lithium concentrate exports months ago. Premier has said it is “in dialogue” with the Ministry of Mines and that the ban is “targeted at specific issues.” No formal exemption has been announced. Even if the flotation plant now works, there is no guarantee that any of the concentrate can leave the country and be sold on international markets.

Hill did not address the export ban in today’s funding announcement. The focus was entirely on operational progress and the need for more working capital.

What Comes Next

Premier has finally achieved what it promised for years: spodumene concentrate coming out of a flotation circuit. That is not nothing. But it is also not nearly enough.

Optimisation could take months. Ramp-up to steady-state production could take longer. And every step of that journey will require cash—cash that Premier does not have and cannot borrow. The only source of funding that has worked so far is the one that destroys existing shareholders: equity issuance at a fraction of a penny.

Hill said the board remains focused on advancing Zulu towards sustained production and delivering long-term value. But for the shareholders who have funded this project through nearly 44 billion shares, the question is no longer whether Zulu can produce. It is whether there will be any value left by the time it does.

First concentrate is a milestone. But at this rate, the only thing being reliably produced at Premier is dilution.