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Zimbabwe is losing millions of dollars through side marketing and smuggling of gold, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya has said, as deliveries by small scale miners decline.

Analysts, however, said government policies were promoting illicit financial flows and smuggling of gold outside the country.

Last year, gold output plummeted 31% to 19.052 tonnes from 27.66 tonnes recorded in 2019.

Consequently, export receipts for the yellow metal fell 16% to US$891.5m from US$1.064.5bn in 2019 due to a decrease in gold deliveries in the country.

“Side marketing of the precious metal could have contributed to the decline in deliveries as a result small scale contributed 48.89% of the total deliveries to Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR) from 63.19% in 2019,” Mangudya said.

In 2018, Zimbabwe’s gold export receipts reached US$1.33bn but fell to US$1.064bn in 2019 and to less than US$1bn last year owing to unfavourable mining policies, side marketing and delays in payments by the country’s sole buyer of gold, the FPR.

The alternative market created lucrative opportunities for gold miners.

The Covid-19 exacerbated the situation following restrictions to curb the spread of the virus. This severely impacted the supply chain.

Analysts say the poor performance in the gold sub-sector, was a cause for concern since Zimbabwe heavily depends on the earning from the yellow metal. Gold is Zimbabwe’s single largest foreign currency earner after platinum.

Government recently approved the unbundling of FPR into two entities, a gold refinery and printing company.

Mangudya believes the move will help increase gold production given that the gold producers will be involved in the production through their 60% shareholding in gold refining business.

But, Gold Miners Association of Zimbabwe chief executive Irvine Chinyenze said the total liberalisation or courting more players was to solution to enhance gold production instead of the consolidation of various players into FPR.

“Despite the pronouncement of partial liberalisation of the gold sector, deliveries plummeted 61% as FPR is still the sole buyer of gold,” Chinyenze said.

Experts said instability in the gold sector has eroded the gold export revenue that the government urgently needs to keep the country’s struggling economy afloat.

Mining experts said the artisanal miners should be given cooperatives legal standing, pay gold producers at world prices and strengthen mining dispute resolution.

A recent mining report said the development of the gold sector was crucial to help turn the fortunes of Zimbabwe’s ailing economy around.

The sector used to contribute more than US$2bn in earnings annually.

But, it has been hit by smuggling.

Business Times

AN artisanal miner was allegedly trapped by rocks in a seven-metre shaft he was working in after it collapsed in Gokwe South leading to his death last Friday.

Police in the Midlands are now appealing to members of the public to identify the body which is at Gokwe South District Hospital mortuary.

The artisanal miner was only known by fellow miners as Foster and had no identification particulars.

Midlands Provincial Police spokesperson Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko confirmed the incident.

“ZRP is calling for assistance from the members of the public in identifying the remains of a male adult who died after being trapped by rocks after the mine shaft he was working in collapsed. The incident occurred at Gazemba C Mine in Gokwe South on Friday at about 3PM,” he said.

Insp Mahoko said the now deceased was working in a seven-metre deep shaft in the company of one Lazarus Mangwana (18) of Ngoni Village under Chief Jahana in Gokwe South when the incident happened.

He said police attended the scene and found Foster already dead.

“Foster was allegedly trapped between stones from the collapsed mine shaft walls. Members of the public missing a relative may approach Nembudziya Police Station or any nearest police station,” said Insp Mahoko.

Meanwhile, Insp Mahoko said there was an explosion at a chrome smelting plant in the heavy industrial site in Gweru on Friday evening which shattered window panes of one of the company’s buildings as well as windows of a car parked within the company premises.

While no one was injured, Insp Mahoko said the explosion was felt by residents from nearby suburbs.

“ZRP confirms having received a report of an explosion incident which happened on Friday around 10PM at Serandex Investments, a chrome smelting plant In the Heavy industrial site.

“It was reported that one Lovemore Darara (41) during his course of work went to a dump site within the company premises to empty some slag which had accumulated in an industrial pot. He left the pot for about an hour to cool,” said Insp Mahoko.

He said when Darara emptied the pot, the contents fell on wet ground resulting in a heavy explosion.

“The force from the explosion shook a nearby company building resulting in eight window panes being shattered as well as windows of a vehicle parked within the company premises,” said Insp Mahoko.

The Chronicle

RESIDENTS of Queens Park East in Bulawayo have expressed concern over the emergence of omakorokoza panning for gold on the suburbs’ outskirts, saying their presence is a threat to the peace and social fabric in the area.

The invasion of the suburb by omakorokoza is a continuation of a trend that has seen them move into areas within cities.

Instead of farms and remote areas, panners are moving onto the outskirts of city suburbs thought to be gold-rich. When Sunday News visited the suburb last week, all seemed quiet and normal in the afternoon.

The only signs of life were a few women pulling down clothes from a washing line as a few clouds threatened to bring rain. At night however, residents say the area, sandwiched between Mahatshula and Queens Park East is transformed into a hive of activity.

They fear that this could change the way of life in the suburb and with reported incidents of muggings and alcohol-fueled brawls, some say that this may already be happening.

“We have always heard about panners but we never thought we would find them on our doorstep,” a resident, Mr Amon Dube told Sunday News.

“The sad thing is that we have always known the ills that gold panning comes with but now that it is happening here, we feel powerless to prevent it. We don’t want the violence associated with these people and their presence here will lead to other social ills which will lead to the death of the suburb. There is no place that has omakorokoza that I know of that has a great reputation.”

Another resident who spoke to Sunday News anonymously said they feared that the presence of gold panners could bring to an end the relative peace and low levels of crime in the suburb.

Of great concern is that most of the panners are not even from the area and are sometimes only known by their first names or nicknames, making them hard to track should they commit any crimes. This is also a continuation of a trend seen elsewhere around the country.

“We are seeing an increase in crime incidents and I blame that on them. If authorities don’t act soon, we will lose the suburb to those people most of whom are not from around here. These are strangers who can’t seem to live well with other people,” the resident said.

Ward Three caretaker Councillor Silas Chigora said he has been receiving complaints from residents about noise levels, particularly at night.

“I think what is happening there is very unfortunate. Firstly, we have had a lot of complaints from residents from Queens Park and Mhlangeni about the noise coming from that area. Every night they say there is a lot of noise that comes from there and it seems there is some kind of grinding that happens during the night,” he said.

Clr Chigora said the panners not only posed a danger to the environment but to themselves as well, as their panning could trigger land collapses that are potentially fatal. Mine collapses have increased since the onset of the rainy season around the country.

“There is also a lot of environmental degradation that is happening in the area. It is important to note that these illegal panners are also a danger to themselves.

“Imagine, right now with the kind of rain that we have received, they still go digging deep underground. We are likely to receive an unfortunate report in the coming days that maybe 10 have been buried under there,” he said.

Clr Chigora said while authorities had tried to police the area, this had proved futile as the panners always went back after a while. He said the only solution might be to seal the areas where the miners operated.

“The problem is that even when council sends rangers to chase these people away, somehow, they find themselves back there again. So, the council’s ranger department should make sure that they go there and enforce the eviction of those people.

“I think it would be helpful for the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) to also go there and give their opinion on what must be done to bring sanity to that place again. Maybe those holes should be filled up. I hear that in the old days that place used to be a mine. Perhaps the only thing that EMA can do on their side is to restore the area there to what it was in its original state before mining took place,” he said.

The Sunday News