Minister Winston Chitando
By Tanaka Gwanyanya
Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Hon Winston Chitando has decried side marketing of gold in the country saying it is affecting the realization of full revenue from the precious mineral.
Speaking at the Gold Mobilisation Send Off Workshop held at a Harare hotel on Wednesday, Minister Chitando said despite an increase in the gold deliveries in the past three years, side marketing has been affecting the possible gold production.
“Despite the increase in gold delivery, it is widely believed by stakeholders that these deliveries fall short of possible gold produced in Zimbabwe during this period due to rampant side marketing, which calls for enhanced compliance enforcement in the sector,” he said.
The Minister pointed out that Zimbabwe is rich in gold but only disrupting side marketing would see the set targets achieved.
“The country is rich in gold deposits and we strongly believe our production can reach 40 tonnes by 2023. However, key to realising this target is the plugging of side markets which are a pariah to our efforts in the mining sector and to the development that we hope to see achieved,” he said.
Gold is one of the major minerals expected to lead growth of the mining sector to a 12 billion dollar industry by end of 2023, alongside platinum, diamonds, coal and hydrocarbons, chrome, and lithium.
However, the parallel market is hampering the efforts by diverting gold from Fidelity Gold Refinery, which is the sole legitimate entity authorized to buy, refine and export gold in Zimbabwe.
According to a 2022 report by the Centre for Natural Resources Governance, the country is losing around 33 tonnes of gold annually to side marketing and smuggling.
Fidelity Gold Refinery has decentralised its buying activities from Harare to cover all gold producing regions within the country, thereby significantly reducing the security risks associated with transporting gold over long distances.
Currently there are 13 gold buying centres namely Bulawayo, Kadoma, Gwanda, Chinhoyi, Shurugwi, Mutare, Bindura, Gweru, Kwekwe, Filabusi, Zvishavane, Makaha Mutoko and Shurugwi.
The company has also appointed Gold Buying agents to conveniently mop gold produced in outlying areas and also from artisanal miners.
Apart from the 4 billion gold industry milestone set for 2023, Zimbabwe efforts to increase gold production are aimed at gaining readmission at the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) in order to directly export gold without going through the Rand Refinery.
The deployment of the Gold Mobilisation National Task Force to provinces is expected to bring critical information and recommendations that will help plug loopholes in the gold sector.
