Govt to buy, process gold for export

ZAMBIA Consolidated Copper Mines Investments Holdings (ZCCM-IH) will start buying gold from small-scale miners for government to start earning revenue, Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development Permanent Secretary Paul Chanda has disclosed.

Mr Chanda said Government had ensured that a marshal plan was put in place so that meaningful revenue was earned from the mineral.

Focusing on gold mining, he said, was a way of improving the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and putting the economy on a firm recovery track.

Mr Chanda said Government had realised the need to focus on gold as it would help the country to earn more revenue and improve its GDP.

Mr Chanda said ZCCM-IH would start buying gold from the small scale miners across the country and add value to it before exporting it.

He said focusing on gold mining was the right way to go as it was a lucrative mineral.

“I can only emphasise that we need to be supported as a ministry by all stakholders to galvanise the energies around gold mining,” Mr Chanda said.

He said the commodity was highly expensive on the international market and could significantly help to improve the economy significantly.

“As government, we want to ensure that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) improves, and focusing on lucrative commodities would help the country attain its goals,” Mr Chanda said.

Mr Chanda said the government was looking forward to ensuring that gold became the country’s major export for the country.

The Permanent Secretary said government would ensure that the country benefited from the mineral.

“ZCCM-IH will be buying from the small scale miners then process it in order to add value to it then export it. We are not looking at exporting raw material but we are looking at exporting finished material,” Mr Chanda said.

“As such we shall see that the country can start earning more revenue from the mineral it is endowed with,” he said.