The Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) has thrown its weight behind the government’s immediate suspension of all raw mineral and lithium concentrate exports, with federation president Ms. Henrietta Rushwaya warning that the organisation will not hesitate to expose corrupt ministry officials and middlemen who have undermined the sector for years, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
Speaking to Mining Zimbabwe, Rushwaya said the federation fully supports the measures announced by Minister of Mines and Mining Development Dr Polite Kambamura, while signalling that ZMF will play an active role in policing the system.
“As the Zimbabwe Miners Federation, we welcome this bold decision by His Excellency President Mnangagwa and Minister Kambamura,” Rushwaya said. “But let us be clear—our support comes with a commitment to accountability. We will name and shame officials from the ministry who are paid to issue export licences without due diligence. We will expose those who issue licences clandestinely, and we will identify the middlemen who ride on genuine export licences, using them 50 times over when they should only be used once.”
Rushwaya pointed to the persistent problem of third-party traders and middlemen who have operated outside regulatory frameworks, often at the expense of small-scale producers.
“The Minister’s directive that ‘agents and third-party traders are not authorised to export minerals on behalf of mining title holders’ speaks directly to an issue we have raised repeatedly,” she said. “Our members have often found themselves at the mercy of cash buyers who offer seemingly attractive prices at the border, only for those minerals to leave the country with no benefit to the fiscus and no development for communities. This ban disrupts that exploitative ecosystem.”
The ZMF president acknowledged that the 10 per cent unbeneficiated export tax, combined with royalty and MMCZ fees, has placed a significant burden on small-scale operators who must pay upfront before receiving payment from buyers.
“We have been candid with the government about the cash flow challenges our members face,” Rushwaya said diplomatically.
“The requirement to pay the beneficiation tax before export, while well-intentioned, has created real difficulties for miners with limited capital. We appreciate that Minister Kambamura has indicated the Ministry will engage the industry on the way forward, and we look forward to constructive dialogue on how we can balance enforcement with viability.”
Rushwaya zeroed in on one of the most persistent abuses in the export system: the recycling of genuine export licences by unscrupulous operators.
“There was a time when someone would obtain a licence for, say, 100,000 tonnes, and that same licence would be used 50 times over by different players,” she revealed. “The middlemen ride on these genuine licences, paying off officials to look the other way, and the result is that our minerals leave the country with no accountability, no taxes paid, and no benefit to Zimbabweans.”
She warned that ZMF would be watching closely and would not hesitate to report violations directly to the highest office in the land.
“We are even amenable to reporting directly to the Head of State,” Rushwaya said. “President Mnangagwa has been clear about his vision for a transparent, accountable mining sector. If we encounter resistance from within the system, if officials continue to operate as if this suspension does not apply to them, we will escalate. The days of looking the other way are over.”
The new requirement for a recommendation letter from Provincial Mines Offices, confirming beneficiation capacity and compliance status, was described by Rushwaya as a mechanism that strengthens local governance of the sector.
“Our provincial structures are where the real work happens,” she said. “When the Provincial Mines Office certifies a miner’s compliance and beneficiation capacity, it creates a record of accountability that follows that operator through the entire value chain. This protects compliant miners from being tainted by association with illegal operators.”
On the Ministry’s reserved right to test export consignments to verify mineral composition, Rushwaya was unequivocal.
“Misdeclaration has been a cancer in this sector,” she stated. “When minerals are exported under false descriptions, it undermines the integrity of every legitimate operator. The government’s commitment to verification at any time sends a clear message: the era of falsified paperwork is ending. For those of us who have built our businesses on compliance, this is welcome news.”
Rushwaya placed the suspension within the broader context of Zimbabwe’s beneficiation agenda, which has been championed by President Mnangagwa as central to the country’s vision of becoming an upper-middle-income economy by 2030.
“President Mnangagwa has been clear: Zimbabwe is no longer satisfied with being a supplier of raw minerals,” she said. “This suspension accelerates a transition that was already underway. We have seen Huayou commission a US$400 million lithium sulphate plant. Sinomine is investing US$500 million in processing capacity at Bikita. These are not abstract policies—they are real investments that will create jobs and build skills for Zimbabweans.”
The ZMF president noted that small-scale miners have a critical role to play in this new dispensation.
“Our members are not opposed to beneficiation. They understand that processing our minerals here means more jobs, more value, and more sustainable livelihoods,” she said. “What they need is a pathway to participate in that future: access to financing, technical support, and a regulatory environment that rewards compliance. We believe this suspension, and the engagement that follows, can help build that pathway.”
Rushwaya concluded with a message that balanced support for the government’s move with a clear warning to those who might seek to undermine it.
“To the officials who have grown comfortable receiving envelopes to look the other way: your time is up. To the middlemen who have built fortunes on the backs of exploited miners and stolen national wealth: find another business. To the genuine, compliant miners who have struggled to compete against this rigged system: your moment has arrived.”
“We support this suspension not because it is convenient, but because it is necessary. And we will be part of the solution, watching, reporting, and ensuring that the benefits of our mineral wealth finally reach the people who deserve them: the miners, the communities, and the nation of Zimbabwe.”
The Zimbabwe Miners Federation represents thousands of small-scale and artisanal miners across the country, playing a critical role in the formalisation and development of the sector.
