Mining ZimbabweLatest Mining News, Policy and Industry Updates

The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has set its sights on becoming the best-performing ministry in Government by 2026, with Minister Dr. Polite Kambamura rallying staff to execute and perform better than all other ministries, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Rudairo Mapuranga

Officially opening a team briefing meeting in the capital yesterday, Minister Kambamura declared that every staff member has a role to play if the vision is to become a reality.

“We want the ministry to be the best-performing ministry,” said Minister Kambamura.

He added that dispute resolution will be handled fairly to gain public trust, a critical component in restoring confidence in the mining sector.

The Minister’s rallying call was met with applause from senior officials and provincial representatives in attendance.

Speaking at the same event, Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development Eng. Fred Moyo reinforced the Minister’s vision, emphasising that the ministry is pivotal to the success of the nation’s economy.

“I hope you all know it. Our ministry is pivotal to the success of our nation’s economy,” said Eng. Moyo.

“Being that ministry, it has to execute and perform better than all other ministries. In order to do that, we need to have a vision for our ministry and strategies to achieve it, which is what our ministry is going to share with us.”

The Deputy Minister posed a rhetorical question to the gathering, challenging them to aim for excellence.

“Why can’t we be the best ministry in 2026? Who would support that? Thank you very much. So let’s work to be the best ministry in 2026,” he said.

Eng. Moyo thanked the Minister for his visionary leadership in calling the strategic meeting, describing it as an opportunity to build team togetherness.

“I don’t know whether we’ve been doing this in the past. If this is the first, may it continue. But it can only continue as we build on what we start today, that is building team togetherness and achieving results. I believe that’s what we will do, and we must give our Minister a round of applause while I stand here for this vision,” he said.

The Deputy Minister urged senior officials to cascade the message to colleagues in the provinces.

“I hope we give them the message as delivered by the Minister, with the hope that they will join us in achieving it. Funds permitting, one would hope that the Minister will be able to go around the provinces and do the same,” he added.

“So, as a final shot, can we do what we can to make this ministry the best there is in our Government? Thank you very much.”

The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development remains a key driver of the country’s economic transformation agenda, with the mining sector contributing significantly to export earnings and fiscal revenues.

A new billion-dollar gold mine is taking shape in Matabeleland North, adding momentum to Zimbabwe’s ambitious drive to lift annual bullion production to 50 tonnes this year, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Rudairo Mapuranga

UK-listed Ariana Resources has upgraded its Dokwe Gold Project, located near Tsholotsho, to a valuation of more than US$1 billion following a 42% increase in proven and probable reserves to 1.13 million ounces. A revised pre-feasibility study places the project’s pre-tax net present value at US$1.06 billion, based on a gold price of US$4,250 per ounce, with initial development costs estimated at US$164 million.

Production Profile and Timeline

Dokwe is designed as a 20-year mining operation, beginning with a 12-year open-pit phase followed by eight years of processing stockpiled ore. At peak output, the mine is expected to produce 100,000 ounces per year, equivalent to roughly three tonnes, or 6% of Zimbabwe’s national production target for 2025.

Annual average output is projected at approximately 80,000 ounces, placing Dokwe in direct competition with Caledonia Mining Corporation’s Blanket Mine, which produced around 75,000 ounces in 2024. The project would rank among Zimbabwe’s largest producers, though it will trail Freda Rebecca, the country’s current largest gold mine, and the Bilboes project, which is expected to exceed 160,000 ounces per year at full scale.

Financial Returns and Strategic Context

Ariana estimates the mine could generate nearly US$2 billion in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) over its life. Payback is projected within roughly one year of processing start-up, with an internal rate of return of 92%.

The project’s upgraded status comes as gold takes on heightened strategic importance for Zimbabwe following the launch of the gold-backed ZiG currency. Gold generated a record US$4.61 billion in export earnings for the country in 2025, making it the top foreign currency earner.

Location and Development

The Dokwe project sits approximately 110 kilometres west-northwest of Bulawayo, encompassing the Dokwe North and Dokwe Central deposits, first discovered in 2002. Ariana’s development plans are advancing alongside other major projects in Zimbabwe, including Caledonia’s Bilboes project and Namib Minerals’ Mazowe and Redwing operations.

With Dokwe moving toward construction, Tsholotsho District is set to become a significant new node in Zimbabwe’s gold production landscape, adding to the country’s broader push to attract mining investment and expand exports.

The African Federation of Miners and Mineral Wealth has demanded that South Africa immediately end all attacks on African workers and called on the African Union to intervene, warning that silence threatens continental unity, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Ryan Chigoche

The official statement, issued from the Federation’s Cairo headquarters and signed by General Secretary Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, declares that African workers are “not enemies of the South African people” but an essential part of the continent’s workforce.

The appeal follows a wave of unlawful xenophobic attacks across South Africa. African foreign nationals, mainly from Zimbabwe, Nigeria, and Ghana, have been increasingly targeted.

Rights groups and local witnesses say authorities have done very little to stop the violence, with few arrests and little protection for migrant workers in mining towns and informal settlements.

The Federation reminded all parties that African nations stood side by side with South Africans during the anti-apartheid struggle, providing political, trade union, and popular support until freedom prevailed.

“It is therefore unacceptable today for African citizens to face humiliation, persecution, and violence on African soil,” the statement reads.

The AFMMW issued five specific demands to the South African government. First, it must take immediate and decisive measures to end all attacks against African workers, especially miners. Second, it must investigate, prosecute, and hold accountable all individuals and groups involved in violence and incitement. Third, it must guarantee the protection, dignity, legal rights, and safety of all African nationals residing and working in South Africa. Fourth, it must launch comprehensive national campaigns against xenophobia. Fifth, it must protect African workers in the mining, industrial, and informal sectors from discrimination, targeting, and violence.

The Federation also called on the African Union to adopt a clear, principled position on the violations. It urged the AU to convene emergency African consultations to address the escalating attacks and defend the principles of African unity, freedom of movement, and the dignity of African workers.

Warning of the consequences of inaction, the Federation said that failing to speak out against these crimes threatens the future of African unity and solidarity. “The unity of African peoples is a red line,” the declaration reads. “African workers will never be divided.”

The statement concludes with rallying slogans: “Long live African unity. Long live African workers’ solidarity. No to xenophobia. No to violence against Africans.”

The Ghanaian government evacuated hundreds of citizens from South Africa in response to a wave of anti-African migrant protests and increasing xenophobic tensions. Demonstrators targeted both legal and undocumented immigrants, accusing foreign nationals of driving up unemployment, committing crimes, and straining public resources.

Currently, leaders of March and March, the anti-Black African immigration movement, have set the 30th of June 2026 as a final date for all African illegal immigrants to leave South Africa.

RioZim Ltd, once one of Zimbabwe’s largest gold producers, widened its net loss to US$29.5 million in 2025 from US$25.4 million a year earlier, as output at its two gold mines crashed 80% and the company largely missed a record gold rally, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Ryan Chigoche

The deeper loss came after both the Renco and Cam & Motor mines remained idle for most of the year while management searched for funding and new partners. Total gold production fell to just 84 kilograms in 2025, down from 428kg in 2024, the company said in its latest financial report.

That collapse in output meant RioZim failed to capitalise on a 44% surge in average gold prices to US$3,436 per ounce in 2025, from US$2,389/oz the previous year. Rivals cashed in; RioZim watched from the sidelines.

Renco only restarted in September under a contract mining deal with Chinese contractor FeiFan Mining, now RioZim’s main financier. All 84kg produced during the year came from Renco in the final quarter. Cam & Motor produced no gold at all.

The scale of RioZim’s decline is stark when compared to peers. Blanket Mine produced 14,767 ounces of gold – roughly 459kg – in the first quarter of 2026 alone. That means RioZim’s entire 2025 output was less than three weeks of production at Blanket’s current run rate.

Looking ahead, RioZim is betting on a two-pronged operational recovery to reverse its fortunes. At Renco, extensive underground development is planned to open new mining areas and enhance grade flexibility. While rain-induced power disruptions hit operations in the final quarter of 2025, the company said efforts are now underway to strengthen backup power systems and upgrade power infrastructure in collaboration with the national utility – a necessary step to sustain any production ramp-up.

That same recovery push extends to Cam & Motor. Pit dewatering has been completed, and management has shifted priority to refurbishing the processing plant to enable a production restart. Pit development and relocation of properties within blasting zones remain critical to normalised mining operations. The company said progress achieved after year-end positions the mine to commence gold production in the second half of 2026.

The broader environment is finally working in RioZim’s favour. Gold prices have continued to trend positively, reaching approximately US$5,000 in 2026. The board believes that a combination of robust funding arrangements, renewed operational activity at both mines, and favourable gold prices will drive a return to profitability.

Whether this latest turnaround plan succeeds where previous efforts failed will depend on execution and on whether RioZim can finally stop missing the boom.

Sixty-four artisanal and small-scale miners died in Zimbabwe during the first quarter of 2026, a 6 percent increase from the same period last year, with ground collapses accounting for more than half of all fatalities, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Ryan Chigoche

The quarterly death toll, disclosed by Mines Minister Polite Kambamura at a workshop for ministry inspectors, lays bare a widening gap between mining’s economic importance and persistent safety failures.

Of the 64 lives lost, ground collapses claimed 54 percent, accounting for 35 miners. Improper use of explosives and gassing caused 25 per cent of the deaths, while falls into abandoned and unprotected shafts accounted for 15 per cent. Electrocution and equipment-related incidents made up the remaining 6 per cent.

Kambamura told government inspectors that the sector’s record mineral revenue in 2025, driven by gold, lithium, and other commodities, must not overshadow the loss of life.

“The figures that must command our attention this morning are not the figures of production. They are the figures of loss,” he said.

The Minister dismissed any framing of the deaths as unavoidable misfortune.

“These deaths are, in the overwhelming majority, preventable. They are not acts of God. They are the predictable consequence of unsafe practice, and where there is unsafe practice, there must be a vigilant inspector.”

He outlined a two-pronged safety response: first, a training programme that has already reached over 500 artisanal miners with instruction in basic safety and environmental management.

“Where you find ignorance, teach,” he said.

Second, he ordered inspectors to deploy the full force of the law against criminal operations, including riverbed mining, undermining of public infrastructure, and working without title, using prohibition orders without hesitation.

With artisanal activity accelerating alongside formal investment, pressure on the inspectorate is intensifying. Kambamura closed with a direct challenge: treat the 64 dead not as a statistic, but as evidence of a system requiring urgent repair.

“Behind each of those numbers is a family broken, a community grieving, and a question we are duty-bound to answer: could it have been prevented?”

Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Hon. Polite Kambamura (MP), has issued a sharp warning against the appointment of unqualified foreign Mine Managers, the proliferation of dangerous tailings dams, and corruption within the mining inspectorate, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Rudairo Mapuranga

Speaking at the Inspectors of Mines Workshop, the Minister revealed growing concern over foreign nationals assuming managerial positions without the requisite FBL (First Blasting Licence) or MBL (Mine Blasting Licence) – let alone proven competency in local mining law and safety practices.

“These days you are just appointing anyone. I have seen some Chinese being appointed as mine managers without proper qualifications,” Dr. Kambamura charged. He insisted that all mine managers, regardless of nationality, must be competent, locally certified, and fully accountable for safety outcomes.

The Minister also took aim at appalling physical standards across some operations. “Some tailings dams are nothing short of a disaster waiting to happen. Some open pits are completely unsecured; that is why our people are perishing. Go and close that nonsense,” he ordered inspectors.

On corruption, the Minister was unflinching: “An inspector who accepts a bribe to overlook a cracked tailings wall or a compromised ventilation system has signed a death warrant. Corruption will be treated as the blood crime that it is.”

To enforce standards, the Government has pledged USD 2 million for a National Safety Enforcement Blitz, alongside new district-level mining development officers, vehicles for inspectors, and a dedicated environment department within the Ministry. “We will give you the resources, but you must bite,” he said.