Small-scale miners set 18 tonnes gold target
SMALL-SCALE miners have set a target of producing 18 tonnes of gold this year after successful surpassing their mark last year.
Speaking on the sidelines of a strategic stakeholders meeting in Bulawayo on Friday last week, Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) first vice-president Mr Ishmael Kaguru said although the Government was still to announce its gold target projection for this year, small-scale and artisanal miners have already set themselves a target of delivering 18 tonnes.
The country’s gold producers fell short of producing the Government’s set target of 27 tonnes only managing 24,8 tonnes, with small-scale miners however, surpassing their target of 12 tonnes by delivering 13,176 tonnes to the country’s sole buyer of the yellow metal, Fidelity Printers and Refiners compared to the big miners who only managed 11,667 tonnes.
“Last year, we had a target of 27 tonnes and the target for small-scale miners was 12 tonnes while for large-scale mines it was 15 tonnes. Small-scale miners managed to successfully surpass their target as we delivered 13,2 tonnes. For this year, ZMF has set a target 18 tonnes for small-scale miners, which is almost half of the 35 tonnes, which we are anticipating to be produced nationwide,” said Mr Kaguru.
He said the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)’s $40 million Gold Development Facility played a significant part in ensuring that small-scale miners met their target.
The fund was meant to capacitate small-scale gold producers with easier access to inputs and key equipment.
The move followed realisation of the increasing contribution of the sector to mining output and export earnings. Over the years, RBZ has come up with a number of initiatives aimed at improving gold production by small-scale miners, which includes setting up of illusion plants, mobile banking as well as ensuring that FPR accepts deliveries below five grammes from individual miners.
“As small-scale miners, we appreciate Government’s efforts to support small-scale miners through the $40 million facility which it put in place last year. The fund went a long way in empowering and equipping miners all over the country.
“We need continuous support from stakeholders like the RBZ through its subsidiary, FPR. This year, we hope Government will continue to support us because we need more funding for us to increase capacity, production and ultimately our contribution to the economy,” said Mr Kaguru.
Mr Kaguru urged mining equipment suppliers to consider introducing plant purchase hire facilities to all miners registered with ZMF.
“Suppliers need to seriously consider plant purchase hire facilities so as to ease tooling of miners. However, before doing this, it is wise for the suppliers to consult ZMF because we are much knowledgeable about our members since we know how much gold individual miners produce.
“We can also assess the miner based on returns to FPR. If suppliers privately deal with miners without our consent, they are likely to be defrauded. We don’t want such a situation because we need to safeguard the reputation of small scale miners and the mining sector as well,” said Mr Kaguru.