Big mines accused of under-declaration

THE Government has embarked on an operation aimed at ascertaining the validity of large-scale miners’ gold deliveries to Fidelity Printers and Refiners amid revelations of massive under declaration.

In an interview with Sunday News after a tour at Bulawayo Mining Company Private Limited formerly How Mine Mines yesterday, Mining Development Deputy Minister Polite Kambamura said there was a need to institute extensive investigations into activities of largescale gold producing miners in the wake of a significant plunge in their gold deliveries to the country’s reserves.

“The fact that small-scale miners are producing more than large-scale operators is a case that needs to be investigated,” he said.

The country’s primary producers have since last year delivered less than small-scale producers of the yellow metal monthly to FPR. Large-scale mining companies produced and delivered 11,6 tonnes of gold between January and December 2017, while small-scale producers delivered 13,2 tonnes of gold during the period.

This year the primary producers are yet to upstage the small-scale producers on monthly gold deliveries to FPR having delivered three tonnes in the first quarter against the later’s 4,2 tonnes. In the second quarter they delivered 3,1 tonnes with small-scale producers doubling that figure by achieving 6,7 tonnes. The trend continued in the third and fourth quarter with the primary producers delivering 2,7 tonnes and 849,3 kilogrammes respectively against small-scale producers’ 8,2 and 1,1 tonnes respectively.

Dep Minister Kambamura said the Government had unearthed highly orchestrated acts of under-declaration being practised by some unscrupulous big mines.

“I have noted with concern that some large-scale miners are giving us under declarations and taking other recoveries or production to the small-scale miners so that they sell to Fidelity and get foreign currency at 70-30 in favour of the small-scale miners so it’s an issue that is under investigation,” he said.

Mining generates over 60 percent of Zimbabwe’s export earnings. It is estimated the sector accounts for between 12 percent and 16 percent of the GDP. Government wants mining to anchor economic growth and transformation towards its Vision 2030 of making Zimbabwe a middle income country.

Addressing the BMC officials after the tour of the mine’s operations the Deputy Minister Kambamura said the country has underpinned the growth of the economy on improved performance by the mining sector with gold expected to play a pivotal role towards achieving this goal.