Drive to make mining rights bankable

continue engagement with both Government and other stakeholders including policy makers to facilitate their inclusion and participation in their areas of interest.”

Deputy Minister Kambamura said elsewhere in the world including the developed world, countries have promulgated laws that enable mining rights to be bankable. In an interview after the conference, Deputy Minister Kambamura said by making mining rights bankable, banks would be able to do their assessments and secure a guarantee that the money being loaned out is secure based on the mineral reserves and grade.

“Currently in Zimbabwe, we do not have such legislation and it’s limiting potential miners from tapping into mineral resources despite sitting on rich ore reserves. But because of lack of collateral such as cattle or immovable property, the miner cannot borrow a loan say of $500 000 to finance the project,” he said.

“In this light, my ministry will be taking it to Parliament for approval and I think we will make it come in as we amend the Mines and Minerals Act bearing in mind how best we can assist the local miners.”

Earlier in his address, Deputy Minister Kambamura said there was also the need for Government to come up with “water tight” policies to curb illicit dealings such as smuggling of minerals.

“There are some operators in the mining industry who are already going out of the law, just because we have opened the doors. Last week my minister went to Bindura and shut down a milling operation. How can one declare a kilogramme of gold in five months, that leaves everyone with eyebrows raised because if you go on the ground you see tonnes and tonnes of mineral ore,” he said.

Government has adopted the “Zimbabwe is open for business” mantra hence all-stakeholders including artisanal and small-scale miners should not just wait for external investors to rebuild the economy, said Deputy Minister Kambamura. He said local investors should actively participate in economic reconstruction programmes adding that small-scale miners have the potential to grow bigger.

Deputy Minister Kambamura highlighted that Government would continue to provide assistance to the sector through the mining industry loan fund and the gold development initiative fund.