Ministry of Mines national team in joint effort to clear title backlog
Ministry of Mines and Mining Development is on a national tour clearing all application backlogs ensuring that miners mine formally, the Mines Minister Hon Winston Chitando has said.
According to the Minister, the second republic has attracted huge investors who have an appetite for investing in the mining sector as a result the provincial offices found themselves in a huge backlog due to the increase in mining application.
The Minister said the country has a backlog of 15 thousand application while his Ministry has managed to issue over 20 thousand mining certificates a clear indication that the President’s mining roadmap is clearly achievable.
“Every day we are moving towards the US$12 Billion. At the beginning of this year, we had a backlog of 15 000 mining application, it means we have more miners investing in the industry. We also have seen over 20 000 new mining locations being issued.”
“We will make sure that we exceed the US$12 Billion industry ensuring that all these new mining locations contribute,” Minister Chitando said.
Minister Chitando said the Ministry is going to make sure that before the end of the year the backlog in mining application is cleared as his leadership is geared to see the growth and development of the mining sector to a US$12 Billion industry.
“We want to make sure that by the end of the year, the backlog is cleared,” said Chitando.
Miners have been complaining over delays in the processing of mining licenses, with applications reportedly dating back to 2018.
The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has been dragging its feet in issuing out mining licenses, with miners citing corruption at provincial mines offices throughout the country.
Clearing the backlog on mining licenses is a roadmap to formalization and regularization of the mining sector a commendable move leading to the achievement of the US$12 Billion industry by 2023.
The government of Zimbabwe launched the USD12 Billion Economy by 2023 in October 2019 as part of the broader macroeconomic roadmap towards an Upper Middle-Income Economy by 2030.
The USD12 billion mining industry represented a 344% increase in mining revenue. According to the roadmap, the multi-billion-dollar industry will be driven by gold, platinum, diamond, chrome, iron ore, coal, lithium, and other minerals.
Through US$12 billion roadmap, the President has put a target of US$4 billion for gold producers while platinum and diamonds are expected to weigh in US$3 billion and US$1 billion, respectively. Chrome, Nickel, and Steel are expected to generate US$1 billion, coal and hydrocarbons are also expected to produce US$ 1 billion. Lithium is expected to produce US$0.5 billion while other minerals are forecast to produce US$1.5.