RioZim, once a dominant player in Zimbabwe’s gold sector, has hit a new low. The mining firm’s gold output fell by a staggering 54% in 2024, just as other companies are thriving thanks to record-high gold prices.
By Ryan Chigoche
Once a pillar of Zimbabwe’s mining industry, RioZim’s dramatic decline has deepened the company’s financial woes, with widening losses, shrinking liquidity, and growing doubts about its long-term viability.
Now under pressure from labour unions pushing for corporate rescue, RioZim is banking on potential backing from a group of Chinese investors to turn things around.
The company’s 2024 financial results paint a bleak picture. Only 428 kilograms of gold were produced last year, down from 940 kg in 2023.
For context, competitors like Caledonia and Padenga produced more gold in a single quarter than RioZim did all year. Caledonia’s Blanket Mine delivered 541 kg, and Padenga’s Dallaglio operations yielded 620 kg during the first three months of 2025.
Production was hit hard by a prolonged strike at Renco Mine caused by unpaid wages.
At the same time, operations at Cam & Motor suffered due to repeated equipment failures.
RioZim stated that the mine operated with just one functioning mill throughout the year after the second one was taken out of service.
Despite soaring gold prices globally, RioZim couldn’t capitalize due to its poor output. Renco’s production dropped by 45% to 243 kg, while Cam & Motor’s output plummeted by 63% to just 185 kg.
RioZim’s diamond unit, once a more stable part of the business, also declined. Murowa Diamond Mine’s output fell by 13%, with only 359,000 carats produced.
The company blamed old and inefficient machinery, saying it had to retire all its heavy equipment due to frequent breakdowns and escalating maintenance costs.
“The current fleet (of equipment) has passed its economic life. The low plant performance resulted in the mine decommissioning all its heavy mobile equipment during the year, as it became unsustainable to run due to persistent breakdowns,” RioZim says.
After years of underperformance and deteriorating conditions, the sale of some of RioZim’s assets now appears unavoidable.
To give a bit of their background, RioZim is an integrated mining and metallurgical company in Zimbabwe with an extensive portfolio of resources in gold, base metals, diamonds, coal, and chrome.
Its mining operations include Renco Gold Mine in Masvingo Province, and Cam & Motor Gold Mine and Empress Nickel Refinery, both in Mashonaland West Province.
RioZim also has interests in Sengwa Colliery Limited with coal assets in Gokwe North; Murowa Diamonds Limited with operations in Zvishavane; and Marnatha Ferrochrome Refinery in Kadoma.
RioZim separated from its parent company, Rio Tinto plc, in 2004 to become a wholly-owned Zimbabwean company.
Its subsidiaries include RioGold Limited, RioZim Base Metals Limited, and RioDiamonds Limited. RioZim Group Limited is listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.
