Mining ZimbabweLatest Mining News, Policy and Industry Updates

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development Dr Thomas Utete Wushe has hailed Freda Rebecca Gold Mine’s exploration drive, saying the operation’s deployment of at least 10 drilling rigs could significantly extend its mine life.

By Rudairo Mapuranga

Wushe made the remarks during his first mine visit since his appointment to the Ministry, after touring Freda Rebecca Gold Mine in Bindura and receiving updates on its production, exploration, contract mining and community initiatives.

Speaking to Mining Zimbabwe on the sidelines of the visit, Wushe said the experience had given him valuable first-hand insight into the realities of mining and would inform policy formulation and implementation under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2).

“I am very impressed with the operations here,” Wushe said.

He said policymakers could lack practical understanding of mining realities when working primarily from their offices.

“As we sit in our offices talking and contributing to ideas and also seeing how we can get our NDS2 on speedy implementation and fast-forward things, getting everything to go at the speed that we would like to achieve by 2030, we may lack the physical experience of what is happening here,” he said.

Wushe said his visit had provided what he described as “tailwind” for policy formulation, implementation oversight and efforts to remove impediments affecting gold production and mining more broadly.

“My visit today, I would say it gave me what I would call tailwind for the policy formulation and overseeing the policy implementation and trying to get rid of any impediments around gold production and also mining in general,” he said.

Exploration at the Centre of Mine Sustainability

Wushe was particularly encouraged by Freda Rebecca’s exploration programme, which he said aligned with the Ministry’s focus on resource intelligence.

The Permanent Secretary said resource intelligence is the first pillar of the Ministry’s five-pillar strategy, stressing that Government needs to establish the extent of Zimbabwe’s mineral resources.

“It is absolutely important and non-negotiable for us to know what is down there,” Wushe said.

He said Government was pursuing exploration on a wider scale, beginning with aeromagnetic surveys followed by ground-truthing to establish the country’s mineral resources.

Wushe said he was excited to learn that Freda Rebecca had at least 10 drilling rigs operating.

“Most importantly, I was told that at this mine we have at least 10 rigs drilling. That means at that pace we will be able to extend the life of this mine phenomenally within a very short space of time, which is really good,” he said.

He encouraged other mining companies to adopt a combination of self-exploration and contract exploration.

“I wish all mines could get into that and bring in a blended solution of contract exploration and self-exploration. The Government will be there to support these initiatives,” he said.

Freda Rebecca Invests US$13.5 Million

Freda Rebecca General Manager Dr Alfred Chinyere confirmed that exploration is currently a major focus for the mine.

“We are happy with what we are doing as a business. Right now, our focus is exploration, which is the focus of the Ministry as well,” Chinyere said.

He said the company was investing approximately US$13.5 million in exploration this year as it seeks to build the resource base required to sustain the operation.

“We are investing around 13.5 million into exploration this year alone, which is supporting the whole vision of the Ministry of Mines,” he said.

Chinyere said the exploration programme was also responding to the mine’s planned increase in throughput, with the company preparing its resource base to support higher production.

“Our exploration programme is responding to that so that we have a good resource to be able to achieve that kind of throughput,” he said.

Mashonaland Central Targets Seven Tonnes

Wushe also highlighted Freda Rebecca’s contribution to Mashonaland Central’s gold production target.

He said the province is targeting seven tonnes of gold in 2026 and had reached approximately five tonnes at the time of his visit.

“We are very much within target. But more pleasing, at Freda, I’ve heard that they are way above their production target,” Wushe said.

He said the Ministry would support Freda Rebecca to increase production further as Government seeks to raise gold output and advance the country’s Vision 2030 objectives.

“My other objective and the main objective is to see how this province can up its production in gold and other minerals towards the achievement of our Vision 2030,” he said.

Contract Mining Creates Local Opportunities

Wushe also praised Freda Rebecca’s contract-mining model and its efforts to develop local businesses within its supply chain.

During the visit, he observed a company that had progressed from incubation into undertaking significant contract mining work for Freda Rebecca.

“I also saw in action what this mine is doing about contract mining. That means they are now focusing on developing supply chain members,” he said.

“This is what I want to see. I also saw the participation of indigenous entrepreneurs in this gold supply chain, upstream and downstream supply chain.”

Wushe said such participation demonstrated how a mine could operate as part of a wider economic ecosystem and create benefits beyond the mine’s direct operations.

“This is really something that will hold the world to come and see how a mine can exist in its ecosystem and build economic benefits for everyone,” he said.

Ministry Seeks Wider Economic Impact

Wushe said the Government wanted mining operations to generate broader economic development in surrounding communities rather than functioning as isolated production centres.

“We do not want to see just bright lights around this mine. We want to see much more,” he said.

He also commended Freda Rebecca’s community initiatives, saying the company had made a positive contribution to communities around the operation.

For Chinyere, the visit was an opportunity for the company to demonstrate its operations while raising issues requiring Government intervention.

He said mining required quick regulatory responses because delays over mineral rights, boundaries and other operational issues could affect production.

“You raise an issue, you would want a prompt response. Mining is dynamic, you want agility,” Chinyere said.

He welcomed efforts to strengthen communication between mining companies, Provincial Mining Directorate offices and the Permanent Secretary’s office.

Wushe’s first mine visit since joining the Ministry therefore brought together his policy priorities around resource intelligence, exploration and increased production with Freda Rebecca’s ongoing investment in extending its resource base.

With at least 10 rigs drilling and US$13.5 million committed to exploration in 2026, Freda Rebecca’s programme provides a practical example of the exploration-led approach Wushe says Zimbabwe needs to sustain its mining industry and advance the objectives of NDS2 and Vision 2030.

Mining is one of the most important sectors of Zimbabwe’s economy, but for many people, what happens inside a mine remains largely out of sight.

That is why access to mining operations matters.

When journalists are given the opportunity to visit a mine, walk through its operations, and speak directly with management, workers, and technical teams, they can report on the industry with a much clearer understanding of what is happening on the ground.

It moves the conversation beyond press releases, corporate statements and assumptions.

For a sector as important and sometimes as misunderstood as mining, that kind of access is valuable.

Seeing mining beyond the headlines

Mining stories often focus on production figures, investments, mineral prices, new projects and company announcements. Those are important, but they do not always tell the whole story.

A mine visit can provide the missing context.

Journalists can see the scale of an operation, understand how ore moves through the production process, observe safety systems and speak to the people responsible for keeping the mine running.

They can also ask questions about challenges that may not be obvious from a financial statement or press release.

This is particularly important in Zimbabwe, where mining has a direct connection to jobs, foreign currency generation, exports, communities and national development.

Openness builds trust

Mining companies operate with significant public interest around their activities because they extract finite natural resources. Communities want to know what is happening around them, investors want reliable information, policymakers need accurate feedback from the industry and the public wants to understand the sector’s contribution to the economy.

An open relationship between mining companies and the media can help bridge those interests.

It does not mean journalists should simply repeat what companies say. Quite the opposite. Good media access allows journalists to see, question and independently report on what they encounter.

That is healthier for both the industry and the public.

Mutapa Gold Resources deserves recognition

In this regard, Mutapa Gold Resources deserves recognition for its openness and willingness to engage with the media. Lately, the company has seen wide news coverage from journalists who have physically visited its mines.

Allowing journalists access to mining operations creates an opportunity for the company to demonstrate what it is doing rather than simply telling people what it is doing.

For journalists, that access provides a chance to better understand the company’s operations, investments, challenges and ambitions while engaging directly with the people involved in running the business.

It is an approach that should be encouraged across Zimbabwe’s mining industry.

When a mining company opens its doors, it gives the media an opportunity to tell a more complete story — one that can include the machinery and production figures, but also the people, technical challenges, investment decisions and realities of operating a mine.

Media access is not about favourable coverage

There is an important distinction to make. Media access should never be confused with favourable coverage.

Journalists must remain independent. They should report accurately, ask difficult questions when necessary and distinguish between company claims and independently established facts.

At the same time, mining companies should be confident enough to allow legitimate scrutiny.

The strongest relationship is one where the company provides access and information while the journalist retains editorial independence.

That balance ultimately benefits everyone.

Mutapa Gold Resources sets a positive example

Mutapa Gold Resources deserves commendation for its openness towards the media and its willingness to allow journalists to engage with its operations.

Providing access to mining operations demonstrates confidence in the work being undertaken and creates an environment where journalists can independently observe developments and ask questions.

For the media, this openness is valuable because it allows reporting to go beyond press releases and corporate announcements. It provides an opportunity to understand the realities behind investment figures, production targets, expansion programmes, ESG and operational challenges.

This approach should be encouraged across Zimbabwe’s mining industry.

The industry needs more openness

Zimbabwe is seeking greater investment in mining, increased production, local beneficiation and stronger economic linkages from its mineral resources.

Achieving those goals requires more than capital. It also requires confidence and transparency.

Regular engagement between mines and the media can help explain the industry’s contribution to the economy while giving companies a platform to demonstrate their work, address misconceptions and communicate directly with stakeholders.

For communities and the wider public, it provides an opportunity to see beyond headlines and understand what mining actually looks like on the ground.

For journalists, it strengthens the quality of reporting.

And for mining companies, openness can help build credibility.

Mutapa Gold Resources’ willingness to provide media access is therefore more than a public-relations exercise. It is a positive example of how mining companies can engage with the media in a way that encourages informed reporting and greater understanding of the industry.

Zimbabwe’s mining sector would benefit from seeing more companies take the same approach.

Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development Chairman Hon. Remigious Matangira has hailed Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe’s Arcadia operation as an example of the beneficiation model the Government wants investors in Zimbabwe’s mineral sector to pursue.

By Rudairo Mapuranga

Speaking to Mining Zimbabwe following the Committee’s fact-finding visit to the Arcadia lithium project in Goromonzi, Matangira said the company’s investment in local processing demonstrated the potential for Zimbabwe to capture more value from its mineral resources.

“This is the best. This is exactly what we are saying, actually,” Matangira said.

He said other investors should seek to emulate Arcadia’s approach to local value addition, arguing that widespread adoption of such practices would significantly advance Zimbabwe’s beneficiation ambitions.

Matangira said Arcadia’s approach was particularly notable because the company had undertaken beneficiation without requiring authorities to constantly push it to comply.

“This is the way it should be. There is no need, actually, to be chasing anybody on their tails and saying, do this, do that. They have done it,” he said.

He added that the company’s operations demonstrated compliance with the Government’s beneficiation policy. “Looking at it, you can tell. These people are complying with the Government policy of beneficiation,” Matangira said.

Beneficiation at the Arcadia project Arcadia’s processing investment comes as the Government seeks to move Zimbabwe away from exporting minimally processed minerals and towards greater domestic value addition.

During the Committee’s visit, PLZ Commercial Manager Leo Huizenga said PLZ and its subsidiary, Arcadia Technology Zimbabwe (ATZ), had invested approximately US$400 million in beneficiation facilities.

The company’s lithium sulphate plant was commissioned in December 2025 and, according to Huizenga, is now fully operational with stable output.

The company has also established an on-site laboratory for product assays and said its environmental, health, and safety department has been operational since 2023.

Arcadia is now moving further downstream, with Huizenga telling the Committee that the company is constructing a lithium carbonate plant and expects production to begin this month. Huizenga said the facility would be the first of its kind in Africa.

The development represents another step in the company’s stated strategy of moving beyond concentrate production into higher-value lithium products.

A test of Government’s beneficiation policy Matangira’s comments come at a time when Parliament is examining whether Zimbabwe’s mineral policies are translating into actual value addition and broader economic benefits.

The Mines and Mining Development Portfolio Committee is conducting fact-finding visits across the energy-minerals sector, including lithium, coal, gas, oil, and uranium operations.

The Committee’s visit to Arcadia allowed legislators to assess the extent to which the project’s operations align with the Government’s push for local beneficiation.

For Matangira, Arcadia demonstrates what can happen when investors move beyond extracting minerals and establish processing capacity within the country.

His comments also provide a clear message to other investors operating in Zimbabwe’s mineral sector: beneficiation should not simply be viewed as a regulatory obligation, but as part of the country’s broader strategy to derive greater economic value from its natural resources.

The Arcadia visit also exposed the Committee to the company’s broader operational and community initiatives. Huizenga told the Committee that the company had achieved 96% wastewater recycling and 90% metal recovery across its domestic operations.

The group has also established the Triangle Zimbabwe College of Engineering and Technology to train local technical personnel and introduced youth training programmes covering areas including welding and electrical work.

Huizenga said the company had invested more than US$3 million in public welfare initiatives, including classroom construction and donations of desks, while also supporting other community programmes.

These initiatives formed part of the company’s wider presentation on its contribution to Zimbabwe’s economic, social, and environmental objectives.

Matangira’s praise does not amount to a formal parliamentary declaration that Arcadia is Zimbabwe’s official benchmark for lithium operations.

Rather, his comments reflect his assessment of what he saw during the Committee’s oversight visit and his view that other investors should emulate Arcadia’s approach to beneficiation.

For Zimbabwe, however, the significance of the endorsement goes beyond one lithium project.

If other mineral investors follow the same path, moving from extraction into processing and eventually higher-value products, the economic impact could extend beyond mining revenues to include industrial development, technical skills, employment, and local supply chains.

For Arcadia, the Parliamentary Committee’s assessment provides a significant endorsement of the project’s role in Zimbabwe’s evolving lithium beneficiation strategy.

As the Committee continues its energy-minerals fact-finding mission, the key question will be whether the lessons from Arcadia can be replicated across Zimbabwe’s wider mining industry.

Zimbabwe’s banks are preparing to finance the government’s push to process more minerals locally, with lenders pooling resources and working with development financiers to meet the heavy capital requirements of beneficiation projects, the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ) says.

By Ryan Chigoche

The financing need is becoming more urgent as the government moves to restrict exports of raw minerals and presses mining companies to invest in local processing to retain more value from the country’s mineral wealth.

Mines and Mining Development Minister Polite Kambamura has repeatedly stressed that Zimbabwe must move beyond extracting minerals and exporting them in raw form. The government wants more processing and value addition to take place locally, creating new industrial capacity around the country’s mineral resources.

Turning that policy into reality, however, will require substantial capital. Processing plants can cost hundreds of millions of dollars and take years to generate returns, putting them beyond the reach of most individual domestic lenders.

In an interview with Mining Zimbabwe, BAZ chief executive Fanwell Mutogo said banks were looking at ways of combining their resources and working with development finance institutions to fund projects that individual lenders could not take on alone.

“Government policy driving mineral beneficiation requires hundreds of millions of dollars in long-term capital per processing plant. Recognising that no single domestic commercial bank can realistically finance this ambition alone, banks are actively exploring collaborative ways to overcome this challenge.

“Local banks are actively participating in syndicated loans, pooling their resources together to fund larger beneficiation and processing projects.

“Banks are acting as conduits for blended finance, combining commercial bank capital with concessionary funding and risk guarantees from multilateral institutions like Afreximbank.

“This collaborative approach allows the domestic banking sector to punch above its weight, mitigating individual risk while supporting the country’s industrialisation agenda.”

The approach is already taking shape. In July, eight local financial institutions mobilised a US$125 million facility for the Shamva New Project, showing how banks can combine their balance sheets to finance projects that would be too large for one lender.

That model could become increasingly important as Zimbabwe tightens restrictions on raw-mineral exports and companies are required to invest more heavily in processing capacity. Industry estimates suggest local banks could collectively raise between US$4 billion and US$5 billion towards the roughly US$10 billion the mining industry needs for new developments over the next five years.

The financing challenge is therefore no longer limited to opening new mines. Banks will increasingly have to support the processing plants, infrastructure and other investments needed to turn mineral production into higher-value products.

Mutogo said the economic environment was also becoming more conducive to longer-term lending, arguing that policy uncertainty was no longer the main obstacle holding back bank financing.

According to the 2026 Monetary Policy Statement, inflation has remained below 5% since January, while the ZiG has maintained relative stability against major currencies.

“Because of this newfound macroeconomic stability and predictability, regulatory uncertainty is no longer the primary obstacle to lending,” Mutogo said.

The improved stability is gradually changing the way banks approach mining finance, with lenders becoming more comfortable with longer loan tenures and greater exposure to projects requiring substantial upfront capital.

That will be important if the government’s raw-mineral export restrictions are to result in actual processing capacity. Kambamura has continued to push for greater domestic value addition, putting pressure on mining companies to invest in beneficiation rather than simply increase production for export.

For Zimbabwe’s banks, the policy is opening a larger market for mining finance, but one that comes with longer repayment periods and greater project risk.

With the mining industry estimated to need about US$10 billion over the next five years, the ability of domestic banks to combine their balance sheets with development-finance institutions will be critical to turning Zimbabwe’s mineral wealth into processing capacity, industrial investment and higher-value exports.

Mutapa Gold Resources is laying the technical groundwork for the formalisation of artisanal mining at Phoenix Prince Mine, with the state-owned mining group positioning the operation to benefit from Government-backed equipment and support programmes for small-scale miners, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Rudairo Mapuranga

The development comes as Mutapa moves to introduce a structured mining model at Phoenix Prince, popularly known as Kitsiyatota, following years of informal mining activity and safety concerns at the site.

Speaking at a town hall meeting held at Freda Rebecca Gold Mine, Mutapa Gold General Manager for Contract Mining, Engineer Tirivashe Vere, said the company was deploying a multidisciplinary technical team to support miners operating on Mining Lease 21.

“We have got geologists, we have got metallurgists, we have got a mining engineer, we have got a surveyor. We are making a full team, and these people are going to support your operation,” Vere said.

The technical support is expected to strengthen mine planning, surveying, ore evaluation, safety and production monitoring as Mutapa moves to bring artisanal operators into formal contracts.

Access to equipment is emerging as a key component of the model.

Vere said Mutapa was already facilitating arrangements under which small-scale miners could obtain equipment through loan-based arrangements, while the company was also working with service providers capable of bringing additional machinery and capacity to mining sites.

“We are already arranging for small-scale miners to go and collect on a loan account. We back that loan facility by just saying they’re working for us and they’re going to produce this,” Vere said.

He added that Mutapa was working with service providers that had previously extended equipment and capacity to miners who would otherwise struggle to finance machinery independently.

“We also have people whom we are working with on the other sites who have already lent something that these miners might not have been able to. Some are willing to bring the facilities and capacity to the site,” Vere said.

The equipment arrangements could potentially complement Government’s wider efforts to improve access to machinery and financing for Zimbabwe’s artisanal and small-scale mining sector.

However, Mutapa’s comments do not amount to confirmation that the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has specifically allocated equipment to Phoenix Prince.

The potential for Government equipment support comes as the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development pushes to professionalise and mechanise artisanal and small-scale mining.

Government has identified ASM as a major contributor to national gold production and has been expanding programmes aimed at improving miners’ access to training, finance, technology and equipment.

The Government has also set an ambitious target of training and licensing hundreds of thousands of artisanal miners, while the Zimbabwe School of Mines has proposed making its Certificate in Principles of Responsible Small-Scale Mining a requirement for small-scale mining title holders.

For Phoenix Prince, access to equipment would add another layer to Mutapa’s formalisation model, which already combines technical supervision, contractual mining arrangements and performance-based access to mining areas.

Vere said Mutapa was also deploying technology to improve its understanding of underground conditions.

The company has introduced ground-penetrating radar to assist with the assessment of underground voids and safety conditions, while surveyors will be responsible for coordinates, geospatial work and volumetric assessments.

Mining engineers, meanwhile, will oversee mine planning, training and contractor management.

The project management function has been assigned to Navid Incorporated, which will oversee day-to-day operations while Mutapa’s technical specialists provide professional support.

The model is intended to give artisanal miners operational flexibility while bringing their activities under a more controlled technical and contractual framework.

Production potential

Vere said artisanal miners had previously been processing around 1,000 tonnes of ore a day at the operation, although the initial formalised phase is expected to start at between 300 and 400 tonnes daily.

At 300 tonnes per day, the operation would process approximately 9,000 tonnes a month.

Vere said that at an assumed grade of one gramme per tonne and a recovery rate of between 60% and 70%, monthly recovered gold could be around six kilogrammes.

He said Mutapa’s share under the proposed arrangement would be approximately 30% of gold produced.

The figures are projections, and actual production will depend on grade, recovery, mining performance and the effectiveness of the new operating structure.

Contracts replace informal arrangements

The formalisation programme will also change how miners obtain access to mining areas.

Rather than operating through informal tribute arrangements, miners will receive contracts through the project management structure.

Vere said access would be linked to performance, with operators who fail to work their allocated areas potentially losing access.

“If you are not performing, you are going to be shown out. You don’t come and take a shaft for speculation because someone else is looking for the economic benefit from that shaft,” he said.

The company also intends to introduce stronger access controls to reduce unauthorised movement into the mining area and limit opportunities for mineral leakages and conflict.

“They need to be identified, and we also need to have access control in the area. We also limit in terms of the interaction of outsiders and insiders because that brings in leakages apart from the violence,” Vere said.

From Elvington to Phoenix Prince

The Phoenix Prince initiative builds on a formalisation approach Mutapa Gold has already introduced at Elvington Mine.

The company has previously said it intends to replicate the Elvington model at other operations, with Phoenix Prince becoming one of the latest sites where Mutapa is seeking to bring artisanal miners into structured contractual arrangements.

The approach combines technical support, training, equipment access, mine planning and production accountability while allowing artisanal miners to remain directly involved in mining.

For Phoenix Prince, the immediate question will be whether the combination of private-sector equipment arrangements and potential Government support can provide miners with sufficient machinery to improve productivity while maintaining safety and environmental standards.

With equipment access increasingly central to the Government’s ASM mechanisation agenda, Phoenix Prince could become an important example of how state-backed mining companies can connect formalised artisanal operations with the wider machinery, financing and technical-support ecosystem being developed by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development.

Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe (PLZ) has proposed a three-tier royalty system for lithium that would retain the current 7% rate on raw ore and concentrates but reduce royalties for progressively higher levels of local processing, in a bid to encourage deeper beneficiation and attract further investment into Zimbabwe’s lithium value chain, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Rudairo Mapuranga

The proposal was presented to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development. Under the proposal, lithium sulphate would attract a royalty of about 5%, while higher-value chemical salts capable of feeding directly into battery manufacturing would attract a rate of approximately 3%.

PLZ Commercial Manager Leo Huizenga made the proposal during the Committee’s fact-finding visit to the Arcadia lithium project, arguing that a graduated system would give companies greater incentive to invest capital in local processing rather than exporting concentrates.

“One of the proposals that we have is to replace the current flat royalty rate with a graduated system,” Huizenga said.

He said a similar approach had been used in the platinum industry and could encourage additional investment in Zimbabwe’s lithium sector.

7% for concentrates, 5% for sulphate and 3% for higher-value products

Under PLZ’s proposed model, the current 7% royalty would remain applicable to raw ore or concentrates.

Huizenga said retaining the higher rate at the concentrate stage would discourage companies from exporting concentrates and encourage further local beneficiation.

“The second proposed level would be to have a rate of around 5% for lithium sulphate,” he said.

According to Huizenga, the lower royalty at the sulphate stage would provide companies with additional capital to invest in domestic refining capacity, industrial infrastructure and processing jobs.

“Basically, if you lower the rate of royalty, it will give the local companies more capital to invest locally,” he said.

The third tier would apply to companies taking lithium processing further into high-value chemical salts that can feed directly into the battery manufacturing chain.

PLZ proposed a royalty rate of approximately 3% at that stage.

Huizenga said the objective would be to encourage production of higher-value materials and position Zimbabwe more firmly within the global battery supply chain.

The proposal would effectively make the royalty burden progressively lower as companies move further up the value chain, creating a financial incentive for deeper local processing.

PLZ raises ZiG tax-payment challenge

Alongside the royalty proposal, PLZ raised concerns over the currency composition of its tax obligations, arguing that the mismatch between its Zimbabwe-dollar receipts and foreign-currency tax obligations is creating a significant financial burden.

Huizenga told the Committee that approximately 30% of PLZ’s revenues were received in ZiG, while the company was required to pay about 84% of its taxes in foreign currency.

The company argues that the disparity leaves it accumulating ZiG balances that are difficult to deploy because many of its imported inputs and other costs require foreign currency.

“Our company gets 30% of its revenues in ZiG… Yet, we are having to pay approximately 84% of our taxes in foreign currency,” Huizenga said.

He argued that allowing companies such as PLZ to settle a greater portion of their tax liabilities in ZiG would reduce the mismatch.

“Enabling us to pay our taxes in ZiG will relieve us of a major, major burden,” he said.

Huizenga also called on Government to lead by example by accepting ZiG for tax payments while businesses continue to face difficulties getting suppliers to accept the local currency.

The issue highlights a broader challenge for Zimbabwean companies that earn part of their revenues in local currency but require foreign currency for imported machinery, equipment, chemicals and other production inputs.

PLZ challenges tax treatment of export charges

The company also raised concerns over what it described as double taxation arising from the treatment of export taxes and levies for income-tax purposes.

Huizenga said PLZ pays a 10% export tax and a 3% export levy, but the two charges are not deductible when calculating income tax.

The company is consequently taxed on income that has already been subjected to the two export charges, according to Huizenga.

“We pay these, but they are not deductible. We are then charged income tax on top of these,” he said.

Huizenga argued that the treatment effectively increases the combined burden from 13% to approximately 16.25%, assuming the 25% income tax rate is subsequently applied to the non-deductible charges.

PLZ is therefore asking the Ministry of Finance to allow the export taxes and levy to be treated as deductible expenses for income-tax purposes.

“This adjustment will mitigate double taxation, improve export cash flows, and bolster the global competitiveness of local industries,” Huizenga said.

He also warned that the tax treatment could affect Zimbabwe’s competitiveness for lithium investment compared with other mineral-producing jurisdictions, including the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Zimbabwe has to compete with countries such as the DRC for investment in the lithium industry,” he said.

Beneficiation investment already underway

The fiscal proposals come as PLZ and its subsidiary, Arcadia Technology Zimbabwe (ATZ), continue to invest in local beneficiation.

Huizenga said the group had invested approximately US$400 million in beneficiation facilities and had paid more than US$100 million in taxes and royalties.

The company’s lithium sulphate plant was commissioned in December 2025 and is now operational, with what Huizenga described as stable output.

The company has also established an on-site laboratory to conduct assays of products being exported, while its environmental, health and safety department has been operational since 2023.

PLZ said it had achieved 96% wastewater recycling and 90% metal recovery across its domestic operations.

The company is also constructing a lithium carbonate plant, with Huizenga saying production of what he described as rough lithium carbonate was expected to begin this month.

He said the plant would be the first of its kind in Africa, a claim that has not been independently verified by Mining Zimbabwe.

The policy question

The proposed royalty structure puts the fiscal debate around Zimbabwe’s lithium sector into sharper focus.

Rather than simply increasing or reducing royalties across the board, PLZ is proposing that the tax burden should depend on how far a company processes its mineral before sale.

Under the model, the highest royalty would apply to concentrates, while companies undertaking deeper processing would receive progressively lower rates.

For Government, the attraction would be the potential expansion of domestic processing, industrial capacity, employment and mineral-linked manufacturing.

For mining companies, the lower royalty at higher stages of beneficiation would provide additional cash that could be reinvested into processing plants and other infrastructure.

The challenge for policymakers will be determining whether the proposed reductions in royalty revenue at higher processing stages would be sufficiently offset by the wider economic benefits of beneficiation, including jobs, tax revenues, local procurement and increased value retained in Zimbabwe.

The Committee’s fact-finding mission comes as Government continues to push for greater value addition in the country’s energy-minerals sector.

PLZ’s proposals therefore place three connected issues before policymakers: how to design royalties that reward beneficiation, how to resolve the mismatch between local-currency revenues and foreign-currency tax obligations, and whether Zimbabwe’s treatment of export-related taxes is competitive enough to attract further investment into lithium processing.

VFEX- and UK-listed mineral exploration and development company Kavango Resources Plc sees potential for multiple gold deposits exceeding one million ounces in Zimbabwe, betting that decades of limited modern exploration have left significant discoveries buried across the country’s prospective ground, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Ryan Chigoche

The London-listed explorer believes Zimbabwe’s gold endowment is already proven, but that much of the remaining potential can only be unlocked through modern, district-scale exploration rather than continued focus on individual known deposits.

Alex Gorman, Kavango’s chief operating officer for Zimbabwe, said the company’s assessment is based on the country’s established gold mineralisation and the relatively limited application of modern exploration techniques across much of the country.

While Zimbabwe has produced gold for centuries, Gorman said the growth in production over recent decades had not been matched by the development of a new generation of large-scale mines or the level of systematic exploration seen in more mature gold jurisdictions.

Against that backdrop, she said the distribution of gold mineralisation suggested Zimbabwe could host multiple deposits exceeding one million ounces, with the possibility of a world-class discovery.

“The opportunity is not about whether Zimbabwe has the geology. The geology is already proven, we know there’s gold,” Gorman said.

“The opportunity is applying modern exploration science at scale to unlock what remains undiscovered.”

Her assessment comes as the government seeks to address the same exploration gap, with Mines and Mining Development Minister Dr Polite Kambamura saying Zimbabwe remains under-explored by modern international standards. Government is preparing a high-resolution national airborne geophysical survey to update geological information and identify areas of mineral potential.

Kambamura has said the country needs to understand what lies beneath its surface before it can make informed decisions about how its mineral resources should be developed, pointing to outdated geological maps and changes in exploration technology. ([Herald Online][2])

The government’s push provides a backdrop to Kavango’s thesis: Zimbabwe’s failure to produce more large discoveries may reflect an exploration deficit rather than a shortage of prospective geology.

Zimbabwe’s exploration gap

Gorman compared Zimbabwe’s geology with Western Australia’s Yilgarn Craton, an ancient granite-greenstone geological province that hosts some of Australia’s largest and most prolific gold districts, including the Eastern Goldfields around Kalgoorlie.

Zimbabwe and the Yilgarn share similarities in their granite-greenstone geology, tectonic histories and lithostratigraphic characteristics, Gorman said.

The key difference is exploration maturity.

The Yilgarn has benefited from decades of intensive exploration using increasingly sophisticated geological and geophysical techniques, while Zimbabwe has not received the same level of sustained investment or application of advanced mineral-systems approaches over roughly the past 25 years.

That leaves Zimbabwe with an established gold-producing history but significant areas where modern exploration has yet to fully test the geological systems beneath the surface.

Government estimates that about six million hectares of prospective ground remain largely unexplored, while the planned airborne survey is intended to provide better geological information for identifying new deposits and reducing exploration risk. ([The Financial Gazette][1])

From deposits to mineral systems

Kavango’s strategy is to move beyond exploration focused on individual known deposits and investigate entire mineral systems.

That means integrating geological mapping, geophysics, geochemistry and structural analysis across wider belts or districts to establish the controls on mineralisation and generate multiple drill-ready targets.

“If you want to go big, to find these world-class deposits, you need to identify as many targets as possible across a wide area,” Gorman said.

The approach is designed to improve the chances of finding concealed deposits and entirely new gold camps rather than simply extending known mineralisation.

For Kavango, Hillside provides a practical starting point.

The company is developing its Hillside gold project in an area with a long history of mining, while seeking to use modern geological models to understand the wider mineral system.

Gorman said Kavango had also established an on-site laboratory to generate real-time data from its operations.

The immediate objective is to develop Hillside towards free cash flow, she said, while the operational and geological information generated at the site can contribute to Kavango’s longer-term exploration strategy.

Technology and capital

The exploration opportunity comes with a familiar constraint: money.

Gorman said there was intense global competition for exploration capital, with a shrinking pool of funds available to companies searching for new deposits.

That makes Zimbabwe’s ability to attract international risk capital increasingly important.

Investors want stable and predictable mining policies, secure mineral tenure, efficient permitting, competitive fiscal terms, reliable infrastructure and quality geological information, Gorman said.

Mining companies also need to demonstrate technical capability, disciplined capital allocation, systematic exploration and responsible project development.

Those requirements broadly align with the government’s current attempt to modernise exploration.

At the Mine Entra Exploration Forum in July, Kambamura said Zimbabwe needed exploration finance to turn its geological endowment into discoveries, while promoting the use of drones, artificial intelligence and advanced geoscience tools to make exploration faster and more efficient.

The government is also rebuilding the Geological Survey’s database through data recovery, digitisation, core libraries and databases, seeking to improve the information available to explorers.

For Kavango, that combination of better public geological information and private-sector exploration expertise could help close the gap between Zimbabwe’s known gold endowment and the deposits that remain undiscovered.

Kavango’s immediate focus remains developing Hillside towards free cash flow, but Gorman’s broader argument is about what could come after the current generation of mines.

Zimbabwe’s gold production has grown significantly since 2009, with artisanal and small-scale mining accounting for much of the expansion rather than a comparable wave of new large-scale mines.

Kavango believes modern exploration can help change that equation by identifying larger deposits capable of supporting long-life, industrial-scale operations.

The company is also pursuing collaboration with universities, government institutions and other exploration partners to strengthen geological research and technical capacity.

For Zimbabwe, the potential prize is not simply replacing existing ounces as mines mature.

If Kavango’s assessment proves correct, systematic exploration could uncover multiple million-ounce gold deposits and potentially a world-class discovery in a country where large parts of the geological system remain insufficiently tested.

The challenge is converting that geological possibility into drill targets, discoveries and ultimately mines — a process that will require both the modern exploration techniques Gorman advocates and the patient capital that she says is increasingly difficult to secure.

Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development has praised Kamativi Mining Company (KMC) for its investment in mineral beneficiation and renewable energy, while calling for increased exploration around the mine to extend the life of the operation, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Rudairo Mapuranga

Committee chairman Hon Remigious Matangira made the remarks during the committee’s fact-finding visit to KMC’s operations in Hwange on Sunday, where lawmakers assessed the company’s mining, processing and energy projects.

Matangira said KMC’s investments in lithium processing, mineral recovery and solar power demonstrated the type of investment Zimbabwe needs to extract greater value from its mineral resources while contributing to the country’s energy requirements.

Among the projects highlighted during the visit was KMC’s planned 36MW solar power plant, which the company has said is being developed at a cost of about US$25 million.

The project is expected to include a 48MWh battery energy storage system, with KMC targeting completion in September 2026.

Matangira welcomed the investment, particularly as Zimbabwe continues to encourage large mining companies to develop their own power-generation capacity and reduce pressure on the national grid.

He said KMC’s investment in energy infrastructure demonstrated the wider benefits that could arise when mining companies invest beyond the extraction of minerals.

The committee also welcomed KMC’s investment in downstream processing.

The company is developing a US$200 million lithium sulphate plant, with planned production of about 75,000 tonnes annually and commissioning targeted for July 2027.

KMC is also pursuing projects to recover and separate tin, tantalum and niobium from its multi-mineral resource. A recovery system is expected to be commissioned in September 2026.

For Matangira, these investments represent progress towards the Government’s objective of increasing mineral value addition and reducing the export of less-processed mineral products.

The projects would also allow KMC to generate additional value from minerals associated with its pegmatite resource rather than relying solely on lithium production.

Despite his praise for the company’s investment programme, Matangira cautioned that Kamativi’s mineral resources are finite and called for more exploration around the operation.

“It’s unfortunate that actually the endowments will be finite,” Matangira said, urging the Minister of Mines and KMC’s partners to invest more in exploration.

He said additional exploration would be necessary to identify further lithium, tin and tantalum resources around Kamativi and support the long-term future of the operation.

“They are not supposed to terminate because the product is finished,” he said.

The call comes as KMC continues to develop its existing resource while investing heavily in processing and energy infrastructure. Extending the resource base could therefore become important to ensuring that the company’s downstream investments remain viable over the longer term.

Matangira also praised KMC management for cooperating with the committee during its oversight visit, despite the inspection taking place on a Sunday.

He said the company’s willingness to receive the committee and provide access to its operations demonstrated cooperation with Parliament’s oversight role.

Matangira described KMC as an example of the type of investor Zimbabwe needs — companies that invest in the country, develop local capacity and seek to create broader economic benefits from mineral resources.

The committee’s visit forms part of a wider fact-finding mission examining Zimbabwe’s energy minerals sector, including coal, lithium, gas, oil and uranium.

For Kamativi, however, the next challenge is extending the resource that underpins its growing investment programme. Increased exploration around the mine could determine whether the current wave of investment develops into a long-term mining and beneficiation hub rather than a project constrained by a finite resource base.