Zim edges closer to US$12bn target

HARARE - Government and private sector players in the mining industry are reso lute in their commitments towards achieving the US$12 billion by 2023.

Zimbabwe launched the Strategic Road to the Achievement of $12 billion by 2023 in October 2019 as part of the broader macro economic roadmap towards achieving an upper mid dle-income economy by 2030. The multi-billion-dol lar industry will be driven by gold, platinum, diamond, chrome, iron ore, coal, lithi um, and other minerals.

The background of miner al contribution to the US$12 billion is that US$4 billion will come from gold, plat inum, US$3 billion; US$1 billion, diamonds; US$1 bil lion, coal; US$1 billion from chrome; ferrochrome and carbon steel, half a billion in lithium and US$1,5 billion from other minerals, sum ming it to US$12 billion.

The artisanal and small- scale miners (ASM) are also expected to play an import ant role towards the mining milestone with sector play er’s committing to contrib ute US$4 billion by the tar geted period.

Currently, various proj ects running into billions of US dollars, largely financed by the private sector, are at different stages of imple mentation, with the Gov ernment facilitating the ease of doing business to encourage investments in the sector.

This year, the mining sec tor is estimated to grow 3.4 percent, before reaching eight percent in 2022, as the country continues to lever age its mineral resources to achieve the desired growth.

Karo Resources, which signed a $4.2 billion plati num deal with the Zimba bwe Government in 2018, is targeting first production of its four portals before 2023.

At its peak, Karo is pro jected to produce about 1.4 million ounces of platinum, more than twice Zimba bwe’s current total output, bringing in billions of US dollars into the country.