Accredited facility to enhance assay accuracy, reduce exploration costs, and strengthen gold sector credibility
BINDURA – Freda Rebecca Gold Mine is constructing a new US$1.2 million laboratory facility as part of a broader strategy to enhance technical competence and operational efficiency, following the achievement of ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation for its existing laboratory.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
The investment, comprising US$1 million for the building and US$200,000 for accessories, will feature a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) to further improve data integrity and predictability. The new facility is expected to be operational within the coming months.
“We have actually started building a new lab,” said Alfred Chinyere, General Manager of Freda Rebecca Gold Mine. “This is going to cost us a million US dollars. With accessories, it’s going to be around 1.2 million.”
First accredited gold mine laboratory
The mine became Zimbabwe’s first gold mining operation to achieve ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation when SADCAS officially handed over the certificate on 21 July 2026. The accreditation, valid for five years until 15 March 2031, covers chemical analysis—the core function that determines ore grades, guides exploration decisions, supports mine planning, and validates bullion for commercial transactions.
SADCAS CEO Dr Eve Gadzikwa, who personally handed over the certificate, noted that as of 31 May 2026, SADCAS had issued 442 certificates of accreditation to 365 facilities across the region, including five certificates beyond the SADC region.
“This achievement is particularly important in a mining environment because the lab is the brain of the mine,” said Sibongile Maphosa, Human Resources Manager at Freda Rebecca. “The accuracy and reliability of assay results influence all our processes—from exploration to plant performance and critical decision-making.”
Strategic importance
The accreditation and new laboratory investment align with the Government’s broader strategy to build domestic analytical capacity and reduce reliance on foreign testing facilities. In April 2026, Cabinet approved a Minerals Value Chain framework that includes a National Minerals Research and Analytical Scientific Laboratory Infrastructure pillar, aimed at ending “costly and risky reliance on foreign laboratories for mineral certification.”
Patrick Maseva-Shayawabaya, CEO of Mutapa Gold Resources, which owns Freda Rebecca, emphasised the commercial significance:
“Reliable internal testing will reduce the delays associated with repeat testing, uncertainty, disputes over results, and over-dependence on external verification. With the aggressive exploration drive that we are on, this certification will enable us to better manage and therefore reduce our exploration costs.”
Operational impact
The new laboratory will support Freda Rebecca’s ambitious exploration programme, which has tripled expenditure to nearly US$8 million this year. The mine is drilling 46,000 metres as part of a programme aimed at extending the mine’s life from its current four years to at least 10 years.
Chinyere said the transition of the accreditation certificate to the new laboratory would showcase further improvements in analytical capability.
“My hope is that the next time we also get that lab, the transition of that certificate to the new lab, there should be something very good to showcase. And then we are expecting that there will be better results.”
National context
The investment comes as Zimbabwe intensifies efforts to increase gold production to support its gold-backed currency, the ZiG. Mutapa Gold Resources, which contributes about 70% of Freda Rebecca’s output, is targeting to increase monthly gold production from the current 300–310 kilograms to between 570 and 600 kilograms by the end of 2026 and into the first half of 2027.
The company has already secured US$125 million from a syndicate of local banks for expansion projects at Shamva and Jena mines, with the new laboratory investment forming part of Freda Rebecca’s broader operational improvement programme.
