ZMF targets 20+ tonnes gold, to capacitate miners
Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) is targeting a gold output of over 20 tonnes from small-scale and artisanal miners under its capacitation and formalization of the sector in tandem with the President’s (HE Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa) vision to catapult the mining industry into a $12 billion sector by 2023.
Rudairo Dickson Mapuranga
Speaking to the media after the reinstatement of the Federation’s President Ms. Henrietta Rushwaya at Rainbow Towers Hotel on Tuesday, ZMF Secretary-General Mr. Morgan Mugawu said the Federation was working flat out to make sure that it delivers at least 20 tonnes of gold to the country’s sole buyer and exporter Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR) from March to December this year.
Mugawu said ZMF was looking forward to capacitating 10 000 small scale miners in the country through sourcing equipment to boost production. The equipment will be available to miners by April of this year.
The Federation is looking forward to at least 100 grams of gold from every miner which will amount to 10 tonnes of gold by December from the registered miners.
“The reason is we need to up our production, we are going to capacitate the registered miners we are sourcing equipment some is on its way. It will be dished out in April.” Mugawu said.
The ZMF Secretary-General also said that the Federation is working to make sure that artisanal miners are recognized as the most important players in the mining industry in Zimbabwe through formalization and regularisation of their activities.
Mugawu said they were going to decrease the nomadic nature of artisanal miners through sourcing tributary claims for them in different mining districts targeting 2 grams per month from every artisanal miner.
“We are targeting to formalise about 500 thousand artisanal miners. Our target is at least each Artisanal miner delivers 2 grams of gold a month meaning about 12 tonnes will be delivered by artisanal miners. We are also going to seek tributary agreements with large scale miners. We want to remove the nomadic nature of artisanal miners thereby getting legal gold from them.” he said.
Gold is Zimbabwe’s chief export product, accounting for nearly $1.2 billion in annual forex receipts. Small scale and artisanal miners account for over 60 percent of the country’s total production. Gold deliveries to the sole buyer and exporter of bullion fell 31 percent to 19 tonnes last year after lower deliveries from small-scale miners and effects of the novel coronavirus.