Prospecting licenses in Mashwest now available
The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development‘s Chinhoyi office finally has Prospecting licences in stock after going for a time without the document a situation that frustrated miners and prospective miners over the last months.
According to miners who spoke to the publication the issue of Prospecting licences might have been caused by unavailability of resources due to elections.
“The Prospecting licences might have been in short supply because Fidelity Printers which prints the papers was busy with election materials. We are happy that the election season is over we can start working and contribute to the US$12 billion economy,” a told Mining Zimbabwe.
Speaking to Mining Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) Mashwest Chairperson Timothy Chizuzu said miners can now buy Prospecting licences and start working on getting Mining Certificates for them to operate formally.
“Miners were complaining to us about the licences and now that the Prospecting licences are there, it’s time for them to sort their papers to work formally,” Chizuzu said.
A holder of a Prospecting License automatically acquires the rights of prospecting and pegging mining claims in the provinces they would have purchased the license from.
When a Prospecting Licence holder has identified a mineral deposit that he/she is interested in, he/she appoints an agent or an Approved Prospector to peg on his/her behalf.
The agent is required to physically peg the area by marking the deposit with a Discovery Peg. He/She should also post Prospecting, Discovery and Registration Notices on the ground. The notices must be posted conspicuously to alert other prospectors.
Before posting these notices the agent is required to inform/or seek consent from the landowner of his intention to prospect.